G/Greer, James Leonardville, KS-3
James Greer Leonardville, KS Uncle Larry's "Marilyn Bike" This is the article writen about the Marilyn Bike.. Thanks for the Pipes the set the bike off. I grew up in Arkansas, my father was disabled and we lived on $700.00 a month. The high light of my life was when Uncle Larry came to visit. He was a Vietnam Vet and he would give me a nickel every time I would go get him a cold beer. He always wore Harley Davidson T-shirts and flip-flops. He would tell me over and over again how he wanted one (Harley-Davidson). He had it down just how he wanted it to look. The paint the tank the wheels, everything came out of his mouth like a song. He talked about that bike like he was riding it in his head. He told me that he met Marilyn Monroe when he was in Vietnam; he said that it was the best thing that ever happened to him. He said that he would think of those few seconds for hours on end for the next 14 months. Then every day the rest of his life. What he failed to mention when I was a boy is the next 14 months he spent as a POW. He told me this when I came back from Desert Storm in 1991. I promised him that I would build his bike for him. I was no longer a poor country boy, now I was a Poor Country Man. We would set for hours and talk about his bike. I'm sure he thought it was just a dream, and it was something we both loved to talk about. He passed on in 1996 and never seen his bike become a reality. At his funeral I swore to myself that it would be a reality and I would ride his bike to his grave and set it there for him to see. I will make that ride Memorial Day 2006. I loved that man he was part of every happy memory I can remember as a child. My wife and I have spent 8 years saving money to build the bike. With a little help from Riley State Bank and a friend that owns Motorcycle Universe we made that dream a reality. I explained the design and he built it. He gave me some dirty looks along the way, and more than once he expressed his opinion but he built it anyway. I changed one thing from Uncle Larry's design. My wife thought that Marilyn should be a skeleton, so she is, but I kept her breasts the way he so vividly described them when I was a boy. Larry Joe Hunter gave us 3 tours and 14 Months of pure hell. I can't even come close to imagining what he went through. Yet he was the coolest man I ever met, he was my favorite Uncle. I love to see people look at the bike and smile. They always ask how did you think of that, and I gladly tell them the story of my childhood hero, my Uncle, My Friend. I look at this bike and I see him touching lives with a smile and a little inspiration where ever it goes just like he did. I can never have my uncle back but I can share him with the world, and with this bike a little bit of Uncle Larry still lives. t ever happened to him. He said that he would think of those few seconds for hours on end for the next 14 months. Then every day the rest of his life. What he failed to mention when I was a boy is the next 14 months he spent as a POW. He told me this when I came back from Desert Storm in 1991. I promised him that I would build his bike for him. I was no longer a poor country boy, now I was a Poor Country Man. We would set for hours and talk about his bike. I'm sure he thought it was just a dream, and it was something we both loved to talk about. He passed on in 1996 and never saw his bike become a reality. At his funeral I swore to myself that it would be a reality and I would ride his bike to his grave and set it there for him to see. I will make that ride Memorial Day 2006. I loved that man he was part of every happy memory I can remember as a child. My wife and I have spent 8 years saving money to build the bike. With a little help from Riley State Bank and a friend that owns Motorcycle Universe we made that dream a reality. I explained the design and he built it. He gave me some dirty looks along the way, and more than once he expressed his opinion but he built it anyway. I changed one thing from Uncle Larry's design. My wife thought that Marilyn should be a skeleton so she is, but I kept her breasts the way he so vividly described them when I was a boy. Larry Joe Hunter gave us 3 tours and 14 Months of pure hell. I can't even come close to imagining what he went through. Yet he was the coolest man I ever met, he was my favorite Uncle. I love to see people look at the bike and smile. They always ask how did you think of that, and I gladly tell them the story of my childhood hero, my Uncle, My Friend. I look at this bike and I see him touching lives with a smile and a little inspiration where ever it goes just like he did. I can never have my uncle back but I can share him with the world, and with this bike a little bit of Uncle Larry still lives.
