Jack Lewis and I used to work for the same motorcycle magazine. We both started at the magazine about the same time. Our moto-journo fortunes seemed linked for 10 years and we both faded from the magazine’s pages nearly in lock step. One month on, one month off: Being platooned with Jack Lewis was like batting cleanup behind Babe Ruth. The crowd would be atwitter over the mammoth home run Jack smashed out into the parking lot, where the cigarette smoking kids would fight each other for the ball. Then it was my turn. No pressure.
I met Jack once in Seattle. He stood two heads taller than me and as much as I would have enjoyed disliking a man so much more talented than me he was the nicest guy you’d ever want to meet. We hit it off like old friends and are internet buddies today.
Jack’s writing has always been challenging, keep your dictionary handy, but the words fit together sweetly and feel like they were always meant to be. If you’ve ever gasped for breath digging a trench or had to guess at the number on a Mikuni main jet, follow the link to his latest piece titled Outcomes. The bastard has hit it out of the park again and the cigarette smoking kids are throwing haymakers.
You guys are both tops in my book Joe, yeah, it’s hard to keep up with Jack but I have always enjoyed reading your stuff as well. Here’s to the both of you reinventing yourselves in this crazy modern world. As for me, I will look forward to reading whatever it is you guys put out.
In all honesty when I started reading the magazine it made my day when you’re stories where in it Joe.
You almost always produced a belly laugh, a true lol.
I read Jacks at the end and the coming out story made me think of an early AA retreat at the Domincan Frias when the leader said if all threw our stories into the middle of the group and could take anyone else s we would all take our own back and made sense.
Agree with most of this Joe, I remember all of a sudden you guys both appeared, kind of an Egan/Burns/Cameron combination, looked forward to the next issue of Motorcyclist just to see which one of you guys would be writing and about what, always something from left field. Seems like that was the turning point to where we are now, not sure any paper periodical could make it these days much as that seems like the correct way to experience cerebral motorcycling. Anyway glad I found you both on the interwebs. Does Egan have a Facebook page? Where can I find Burns?
Been meaning to check out this new blogsite, or whatever you call it and now that Joe and Jack are both writing for the same online publication, well, I couldn’t stay away.
I just hope that you’re both earning the well-deserved Big Bucks you were accustomed to earning as Motorcyclist contributors. 😉
Lancelot,
Jack doesn’t write for this site. Although he could any time he wants to. We just linked to his page because the story was so good.
No one is making money yet. Any ad money is plowed back into promoting the site. Maybe in a few years we’ll be as big as AsianFootFetish.com.
John Burns is at Motorcycle.com and is producing huge amounts of copy.
Wow, great intro Joe Gresh, and thanks so much for the link to the great article by Jack Lewis. Appreciate very much the introduction. It may come slower to Jack than it did in the past, but it’s glorious nonetheless…