It took some forty years of convincing, but Barry Strang finally managed to persuade his wife Pam to let him buy a motorcycle.
The Casper, Wyoming, man would visit the local Harley Davidson shop every week for the last 38 years, and every week for the last 38 years his wife would put the kibosh on his dream of owning his own hog saying it was too dangerous.
"It’s on my bucket list," Pam recalled her husband telling her.
In a sad turn of events, buying that bike would indeed be the last thing Barry ever did.
After semi-retiring last month, the 59-year-old decided the time had come to set aside his wife's concerns and go to the Harley dealership in Lander with the intent to purchase.
The couple drove to the dealership together, but split up so Pam could "check up on a quilt she had ordered."
They agreed to meet up later at a nearby casino.
But on his way there, just three miles from the shop, Barry lost control of his Harley and struck a tractor-trailer, losing his helmet in the process and sliding underneath the truck.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Before he died, Barry managed to post a photo of his new motorcycle on Facebook. "44 years finally got one," he wrote.
His death was so sudden that the last comment on the post telling Barry to "enjoy" the "new toy" he has "earned" was written several hours after the accident.
Pam says she's aware of the "the cruel irony of the situation," but insists she isn't angry.
"It was something he wanted his whole life," she told the Star-Tribune. "It’s like my son said, ‘Dad went out with the biggest smile on his face."
