Storage Space Community
I just wanted to write a quick post about the people I’ve met since working on my bike in the storage facility near my old house.
Last night I was there quite late and I ran into three Salvation Army guys coming back from their weekly run to drop off fresh towels and shaving kits for the homeless around Sydney CBD. They gave me two fresh white towels to use as shop rags (which I’m slightly hesitant to use as they’re so clean) and offered me cold drinks.
I also ran into the big dude who stores his Harley in the shed beside mine. He previously offered me his old fatboy headlight that he’d replaced with a $400 aftermaket piece, but I think he’d forgotten about the offer, and I didn’t press. He’d dislocated his finger in a skiing accident that day and rode off on his scooter with a grimace.
There’s a guy who comes in every weekend and drops off his motorcycle and picks up his car, he usually says a few words and asks me how the bike is going.
Last weekend a fellow pulled up in a Bentley he’d bought for $14,000 off a vintage car rental company after hiring it for the weekend. He showed me the workmanship on some of the components and I was suitably blown away by the attention to detail. The guy was hilarious, a cross between Steve McQueen, Biff from Back To The Future, and could very possibly have stepped in as a character on Underbelly…
There are the young dudes on the other side of the facility who I haven’t talked to much because I don’t walk around that side at all, but they seem to be running a small hobby carpentering setup out of one of the roller door spaces.
Last weekend a guy drove through in a massive old valiant blaring The Velvet Underground tunes, and last night a random guy drove in, sat in his car for about an hour and drank beers on his own.
Funny to think a storage facility could house such a wide range of interesting characters, but I guess the place is used 50/50 for storage and hobbies, and the hobby folk are the ones who return regularly to store their vintage cars and Harleys, build a set of drawers, or completely overhaul a motorcycle. Cool shit.