David is an Aussie. Emy his wife is Filipino. In rural Ephesus, Georgia, where they live, that in itself is interesting enough, I suppose, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. David repairs and restores vintage motorcycles for a living. No Hondas. No Harleys. He works on the more exotic BMW, Bugatti Norton and such, especially older ones
Customers ship them to him from inside this country and out. Good work and fair prices keep him busy. So does the subsistence farm he and Emy operate.
He, Emy and their young daughter, Mateo, came to America with only six hundred and fifty dollars in their pocket. That in itself is frightening to most, but normal for them. No one can say they lack courage.
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David got a job. Then another. Then another. He open a motorcycle repair and renovation shop in Florida. He moved it to Ephesus. The land was cheap. Mateo could attend the University of West Georgia and they could farm. The vegetables and fruit they eat comes from their garden or orchard, the meat, from the chickens, sheep, hogs, or goats they keep. There are no farmhands to help with the chores. David and Emy do it all. I love to eat with them. Emy is a superb cook..
The farm they bought had a dilapidated house on it, so dilapidated David and Emy chose to renovate the barn, not the house. After years of work, their place is a maze of buildings, some for the farm, some for Davids’ business. It is easy to get lost among them. They always maintain rooms for guest, and guest come.
I met David when he and Emy wondered into a Carrollton Writer's Guild meeting. He was writing a book about his and Emy’s travels. They had ridden their BMW with a sidecar around the world. Yes, I said around the world. By itself, that is interesting enough. There was more.
Next meeting, he read a chapter from it. It was not a travelogue as he had described it. It was an adventure story. He, Emy, and Mateo were caught in the middle of the Rwandan Civil War. Each meeting he would read. Each meeting, the entire writer’s group bit its collective nails as he and Emy got out of one tight spot after the other. He was snake bitten, had cholera, and was beaten several times by soldiers or criminals. David is a real life Indiana Jones. His book is outstanding. It will be out soon. Look for it: Das Big Pella Walkabout.
Each year, David has what he calls his event. Friends, mostly motor cycle enthusiast come visit for several days. I have attended since I have known David. This year I took pictures.
Ladies in the kitchen and the men chewing the fat.
Real wood stove from 1901. Eny uses it.
This is not David. It's one of his pigs.
