A Bridge Between Generations

He’s Stephen J. Kinzey, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology.

But you can call him “Skinz.”

He has stepped into the well-worn boots of a legacy that has remained true to its many serious roots while having to weather the unstoppable onslaught of time and the natural changes that come along with it.

It’s difficult to juggle the old and the new but guys like Skinz just might have the balance to pull it off.

The entire biker lifestyle wasn’t exactly based upon the high-brow camaraderie amongst those who were steeped in higher education. There weren’t a lot of doctoral graduates barnstorming along the rough roads of places like post-war Oakland, Hollister and San Bernardino, trying so hard to regain an identity that the horrors of World War II had stolen from them. There was an intrinsic hard edge to these young veterans...an edge that wasn’t honed in clean classrooms or in the pages of theses and “directed studies.”

But the world has continued to turn and Dylan was right: “...the times, they are a’ changin’...”

The hard edge, however, has not changed. It’s permanent. That has --and always will be-- a major factor in loving a life on two wheels. The difference now lies in how this lifestyle has expanded within its close circle of membership as generations have passed. Most of the WW II vets are gone now, leaving things up to Baby Boomers and, more recently (as the Harley-Davidson Motor Company’s own demographics have proven), to a younger breed that has known only a far more sophisticated world than that of the rough-cut 1940s.

Long ago, Albert Einstein had some pretty interesting theories about the abstract concept of “bending time.”

Skinz might’ve finally put this concept to work...just within our own interesting little sub-culture.

In the year of 2002 his idea was to resurrect a long retired chapter of the legendary Boozefighters MC, established in 1946. Chapter 4 had been the Los Angeles area outlet for the club that really had its genesis right there in the L.A. suburb of South Gate. As part of this revival there was the historical membership renewal of one of the founding fathers, Jim Cameron.  Jim was the Boozefighter who rode his Indian into Johnny’s bar during the 1947 Hollister festivities...a Kodak moment if there ever was one.

And, exercising proper respect and protocol, Cameron’s permission was also asked before the hallowed Chapter 4 patch was exhumed.

On November 2, 2002, the national controlling body of the club officially recognized the reborn Chapter 4. Skinz and Jim Cameron...a 21st century Ph.D. in linked brotherhood with one of the “Original Wild Ones.”

And it fits. It works. It proves that the unalterable, unchanging desire that some human beings have for the freedom that this lifestyle provides simply doesn’t change. Yeah, the titles behind the names may be a bit different...the hats may change...but the spirit is immortal.

To celebrate their first anniversary, Chapter 4 put on their first annual poker run, a charitable event designed to produce some funds that will go toward fighting the disease of Friedreich’s Ataxia.

OK, I didn’t know what that was either.

A little research later told me that it is “a genetic, progressive, neurologic movement disorder that typically becomes apparent before adolescence.”

Maybe some of our scooter tramp ancestors couldn’t even begin to spell Friedreich’s Ataxia...or kinesiology...let alone define them. And few, if any, ever were able to --or desired to-- place educational distinctions after their names. That is an opportunity and a privilege that gets stronger with the evolution of each generation, thanks in large part to the freedom-fighting efforts of our leathered elders.

The bridge that Skinz has been able to construct between the generations that have spanned this “biker” way of life is proof-positive that certain, very special ideals and passions are immune to the erosion and changes of time. He’s shown that the love of true brotherhood and the freedom of the road are genuinely immortal.

Who says Prospects get all the dirty work???