[Joeaksa]

Greg,

Gil and I kinda grew up together. His Father and my Father worked together. Harold "Nick" Nickel, Gil's Father got my Father addicted to Jaguar cars, and Gil and I goofed around together from time to time. Gil is the one who got me addicted to BMW motorcycles.

My first experience with Jags was as a teenager in the right seat of Nick's 1963 E-Type going down the highway. He got it up to 145 mph, then slowed down for a corner, so you might say that he liked his cars as well! Still have a photograph of that day with Nick and smile when thinking about it.

When my Father passed both of them came to the funeral and I am in touch with John, Gil's brother, from time to time. I dated John's daughter for a while so there is a lot of history with us.

Did you ever see Gil's Ferarri 250 GTO? He had very good taste in cars and the money to buy them. Did you know that Gil raced in one of the first Cannonball runs with Brock Yates? He enjoyed the sports cars as well. The parent company that supports all of this is Greenleaf Nursery in Park Hill Oklahoma. Nick Nickel started it from nothing, and my Father was the first (and only) sales rep for many years. Its now the biggest of its kind in the world the last I heard.

Far Niente Vineyards came after Gil got tired of living in Oklahoma and moved to SFO. To tell the truth, he felt it was kinda "hick" for him. He met an American Airlines flight attendent somewhere along the way and got married. They bought the vineyard a few years later and worked it in to what it is today. Was very sorry to see him pass, especially at his early age.