I sprained my left hip in August. I was riding the bus and when the driver stopped, he didn’t lower the bus. I stepped down with my right leg and an old injury caught fire as soon as my foot hit the d*** concrete.
It was an old rodeo injury from when a bull fell on me back in ‘83 in Texas. All cowboys who lived that life have some broken bones. As you get older, stuff like this is a guarantee. But h***, if I was young, I’d do it all over again.
For days I just lay in bed. And for a whole month, I had to walk on a cane. But sitting at home, staring at that cane all the time brought an ideal design to my mind.
I thought, “D*** that’s an ugly cane. Can I give it some flavor? Some bling bling?” I still sell a few copies of my first book, “So You Want to Be a Pimp?” here and there. Looking at the cover, I remembered the car I used to have back in Kansas City, The Pimpmobile.
The guy that designed the first chrome chopper did the work on my car when I was young. It had big white wall donuts with spokes. It had a Superfly grill that was all chrome, as was the fifth wheel on the back. I even had chrome buckles on the trunk. That stuff had me on the cops’ radar everywhere I went.
So, sitting there in my apartment with nothing but my imagination, aluminum foil, and some glue – I modified that cane. I made the fly grill upfront and put a Flying Goddess hood ornament (also out of foil) on the handle. I named it “Fly Stick.”
Now that I have the mockup, pictured here, I’ve sent ABC’s “Shark Tank” my description and these two photos. I also met with InventHelp — but they wanted $12,000 upfront. And their competitors are just the same. No way I can swing that. So, I figure I must make the finished metal prototype myself.
I’m planning to go to Lowe’s right here in D.C., get everything I need, and do it all right on my kitchen table. I figure I’ll take it to Philly to get it all welded together. Then I’ll grind it down myself — we call it polishing — before sending it to Detroit to have them dip it in chrome. So, in the end, I can manufacture these things from my apartment. Then I’ll put it online and if someone wants one, custom, it will cost $300. I don’t do metalwork myself, but I know a lot about it from my buddies back in Texas. I’ve got a couple of people interested in investing. I just need to get this prototype made. And I have some more inspiration, too! Nothing I can share yet. But at age 66, these new ideas are a wonderful thing. I feel alive.