LOVE STORIES
Harley sale motors up marriage for pair

By Tanya Bricking Leach
Advertiser Staff Writer

Chuck and KimAnn West met at a motorcycle shop on Nimitz Highway and married June 19 at a patriotic, picnic-style celebration at the Pilila'au Army Recreation Center in Wai'anae. Photo by William Thomas

She thought she'd make a little money.

"There's no money in radio," she said of her days at KCCN and KINE.

She wasn't really cut out to be a motorcycle saleswoman, as it turns out, but business did mix with pleasure when it came to a certain customer: Chuck West. He kept coming back to Cycle City on the pretense of "buying parts."

She had helped him with his paperwork when he closed on a bike, and she thought nothing of it at first when he came back to the store. She'd always go over and talk to him.

"I was kind of interested," West said. "I guess she sort of liked me, too. She stole my motorcycle keys one day, and it was pretty much history after that."

West invited Thomas to a picnic. She accepted. She invited him to a friend's Christmas Eve party. He invited her on a tour of the boat where he worked, re-enacting the whole Titanic-I'm-king-of-the-world scene with her on the bow.

And she told him about her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. Even though she and West were just getting to know each other, he stayed by her side as her mother deteriorated.

"Things went real fast with Mom," Thomas said. "When she left us, my father said, 'Go to Chuck and let him comfort you."

Her dad, William "Wild Bill" Thomas, who spent his career in the Air Force, was impressed with West, an Army chief warrant officer who works as a vessel master on a high-speed catamaran.

"One hell of a nice guy," he said. "I'm happy for them. Chuck is a wonderful man."

West, who grew up in Indiana, introduced her to a world of adventure: Harleys, hunting, archery, the shooting range and travel. And he fell in love with the energetic woman with the winning smile and the caring heart.

So, with her father's blessing, he asked her to marry him.

There was no getting down on one knee.

He told her he would be back June 15 from a deployment, Operation Cobra Gold, that took him to Thailand.

"So let's get married on the 19th," he said.

The bride and groom, both 42, of Waipahu, tied the knot June 19 in an outdoor ceremony at the Pilila'au Army Recreation Center in Wai'anae. It was a casual event with the theme of "Aloha Boat Days," complete with a lu'au-style pig, pineapples and patriotic red, white and blue flags and flowers. Oh, yeah, and a Harley-Davidson sign and special motorcycle parking out front.

The wedding was a union of leather and lace, patriotism and playfulness. (After exchanging their first kiss as Mr. and Mrs., the new Mrs. West turned around and threw up her arm to the crowd in a show of excitement.)

"He made a believer out of me, and I made a believer out of him," she said. " I am so honored and proud to be his wife."

Tanya Bricking Leach writes about relationships. If you'd like her to tell your love story next, send the details to tbricking@honoluluadvertiser.com or call her at 525-8026.