WELL, WHY NOT?

 

There is a delicious silliness about someone riding a Harley tricycle with a Santa hat and beard in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. It’s all about gesture, the show, the image and a laugh. I like it.                 

HOT COP

The St. Louis motorcycle police lead every parade around this town. It must be a fun break from their usual work. Always on black Harley Davidsons with black helmets, black leather jackets and perfectly polished black boots. 

One of my very few photographic claims to fame is that I was once asked to use a photo of a line of SLPD motorcycle cops for the catalog of a show at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. The show was about the art of modern fashion and they wanted to use my picture in a section about motorcycle jackets. https://tinyurl.com/2p8b6pf7 Of course, they said they couldn't pay anything but offered me a couple of tickets and a copy of the catalog if I happened to show up during the run. I did. The contact person who said she would be there wasn't. I had to show the email exchange to a manager to get my meager compensation, but I got my five minutes of fame.             

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - SOME PEOPLE HAVE IT ALL

My class at the Maine Media Workshops was wandering around the small harbor in Rockport looking for images. Our teacher, Harold Davis, and I ran into a pleasant couple, I'd guess in their 30s, who owned this big, tricked-out Harley. They were from Florida, where the man had sold a business (don't know what). They had an ocean-going yacht on which they were cruising up and down the Atlantic seaboard carrying the Harley for land excursions. (Don't have any idea how they got it on and off the boat.) La dolce vita, if you can find it.       

Still Low On Material So How About Some Bikers?

Maybe I can find some time to shoot this weekend (the Lou's version of the World Naked Bike Ride is Saturday night) but for today I gotta scrape up something from Michigan again.

 

I get motorcycles in a way, and then again I don't. Big adrenaline rush, wind all over your body, the immediate, physical sense of speed and motion. And then there's the old bad joke. Question: what's another term for motorcycle rider? Answer: organ donor. As some of you know, I represent people on disability cases and I've had a lot of clients who got seriously messed up on these things. And I only see the ones who survive. No airbags, just pavement, walls, poles and other vehicles.

 

Younger riders are on the small screaming machines, sometimes weaving recklessly through traffic. The old, big (you know what I mean) guys ride Harleys. Part of the uniform is often leather vests or jackets sewn over with patches. What can I say? This is a multi-cultural society.                

Shall We Gather At The River?

The water skiers and kayakers were not the only people out for a ride by the chilly Mississippi on New Year's Day. As I approached the levee I saw a group of men in black leather jackets, standing hand-in-hand in a circle around an orange Harley. The patch on the back of most of their jackets said Christian Motorcyclists Association. So, bikers for Jesus? I guess that was the idea.

I immediately thought of the old hymn mentioned in today's title. However, I don't think the Mississippi flows by the throne of God. It does flow by New Orleans, though, which may be sort of the opposite.           

Born To Be WIld

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I think we'll finish with the Mardi Gras parade pictures today, featuring some of the many Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the procession. Do people in other parts of the world understand the Harley mystique? In this country you are simply not a bad-ass biker unless you are astride one of these machines. Riding one is a statement that you were born to be wild, even if you are wearing a pink coat.

There are a whole lot more pix in the parade set on Flickr here. Now it's time to move on.

Bikers For America

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There were an awful lot of motorcycles at the veterans parade last weekend. Nearly all of them were Harley Davidsons, machines that have become a cult in this country. Think back to Peter Fonda in Easy Rider. There seems to be a certain style that goes with riding one, albeit with variations. Almost all the drivers wore black leather outer clothing. Some were well tailored and clean cut. Others looked tattered and tough, favoring bandanas tied around their heads and lots of facial hair.

Speaking of the Fonda family, look closely at the bottom picture. The patch on the rider's right hip says "Jane Fonda American Traitor Bitch." Sheesh, let it go. The Vietnam War was more than 40 years ago. And, um, people can sincerely hold different viewpoints, right?

Apologies for not leaving any comments yesterday. Long day at work (they all are) and then spent the evening doing something different. I am a participant in a long-term study of personality and its effects on aging at the psychology department at Washington University, one of the country's most prestigious centers of higher education. (Recall that I went to that other university across town.) Every year or two they have me over for three hours of interviews and testing. I hope I skew the bell shaped curve.

Cops In The Lou

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He looks serious and powerful. Hope he's not after me. Black fiberglass, stainless steel, black leather - the quintessential Harley look.

I will be away on business until Friday. And this is real business: no fooling around, no photography, unless you have some special interest in the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport taken with a point and shoot. With luck I'll be posted ahead but there will be limited ability to visit my friends' blogs. Apologies in advance.

Gas Tank of the Damned

This is the gas tank of a customized Harley Davidson I saw at the Collinsville World's Largest Catsup Bottle Festival. I'd like to know something about the designer and the owner of the bike who commissioned the work. It starts with a sort of Beauty and the Beast motif and then gets way darker. How would you interpret it?

I spent much of Saturday and Sunday wandering around the St. Louis artists' studios open house weekend. It's great fun to look at all the different creations. All of the artists are happy to talk about their stuff. And then, guess what? I ask if I can take their picture. It will take me a while to sort and edit it but I got such good stuff I'm thinking about an all-portraits week on STL CDPB. Would that interest anyone?

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO: the St. Louis Cardinals game on the radio, driving from studio to studio. Aaron Miles hits a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth and the Cardinals defeat the San Diego Padres 9 - 5. What kind of name for a professional sports team is Padres, anyway? (Who's your daddy?)

TOMORROW: a strong hand and intense heat.