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In Memory of a Friend

When I first began to get involved with the Houston biker (Harley) community a few years ago, one of the first people I met was Mad Dog Martin. You soon realized that this giant of a man was as gentle as a big teddy bear with his friends - the kind of person that always made you feel like he was glad to see you. The first to greet other people when they would come into an area that he happened to be, he would take the time to welcome them and to give them a hug - and probably a kiss. He expressed his love for his biker friends more freely than most people and it "took a little gettin used to". But that was Mad Dog.

He was the kind of person that you know you could call at 3:00 a.m. if you had a problem and you know that he would do whatever he could for you.

The last time I saw Mad Dog was about a week before his accident. Carmen and I were at Peck's and when we started to leave Mad Dog noticed and came over to say goodbye. We both hugged him and told him that we loved him - and he expressed the same thought to us. That moment of love freely shared between friends will always be one of my most cherished memories.

Mad Dog's life ended abruptly when a car pulled from a side street directly into the path of his bike.

A tragedy for the young girl that was driving the car. It is hard to imagine that guilt that a person must feel knowing that because of a fleeting moment of inattentiveness a life has been taken.

Mad Dog will be remembered, and loved, by the biker community for as long as any of us are still around to relive our experiences and to swap those inevitable "remember when . . . " stories.

But Mad Dog would not want to be remembered with sadness and grief, he was too full of life for that. Mad Dog would want to be remembered for the good times and he would want his friends to celebrate his life more than they mourn his death.