As I was thinking back, I remembered that the first time I ever emailed him was concerning a Moto Guzzi that I had bought and was attempting to restore. He was very helpful with generous advice about the Guzzi and I always thought I'd look him up and ride by on that bike when it was (finally) done, by way of introduction.
Unfortunately, I had to cut short the project and sell the Guzzi...but years later I ran into this guy at one of the Bay Area bicycle swaps (Cupertino, I think) who drove up in a beautifully restored red Alfa Romeo.
I struck up a conversation with him over the car (I was gushing over it and wishing I had the time/money to devote to one of those), when the penny dropped and I realized that HE was "that Guzzi Guy" from way back.
Seeing as he was actually more of a Ducati fan, it just showed me how extensive and unbiased his knowledge was of so many things Italiano, and how generous he was to share that with some stranger.