Underblog Rides Again

But this neighbor called yesterday and invited me to see local boy Har Mar Superstar at one of the beer compounds down Grand a bit. She also hinted that if I did want to go and I did bring the scooter, she would appreciate a ride. I had been intrigued by the local near cult status and self-promotion ability of Har Mar, and so I showed up around the corner on the Letta, which was now sporting two new Shinko tires (I had replaced the front earlier in the day). "I really needed to clean myself" she said from the top of the stairs." "Me too, but I didn't bother" I replied. We proceeded down Summit until we saw a large tent from which loud music emanated. This must be the place.

One of the things I like best about scooters is that they are so easy to park. Special events add a premium to this convenience, since even the barricaded streets have a row of motorcycles into which one can insert one's bike. I parked the Letta between two bikes and we strolled over to the tent, purchased our wristbands (making it impossible to look for our peeps on the outside), and saw most of the opening acts act. I imagine they sound better recorded than they do live. Like most parking lots, there was a distinct lack of shade. I could feel my skin burning, which might have been distracting but for the Summit Ale I managed to scrape the five dollars out of singles and coins to pay for. When an occasional cloud blocked the sun for a moment, we breathed a sigh of relief.

As Har Mar took the stage, he pointed to the clouds and told us that the Devil was going to visit. At first, I would feel a rain drop fall but it would evaporate as soon as it landed. But by the second song, evaporation would not keep up with the rain. Then the skies opened up in earnest. The weather did not appear to dampen anyone's enthusiasm, much less ours. Har Mar has made a career of being a charismatic and talented humunculus. But he knows how to the work the crowd. It is a mystery to me why that man objected to his wife / girlfriend making out with him onstage: She seemed game. Dancing in the rain was the latest of the day's series of small firsts.

Once the set ended, I was ready for the rain to stop. I had been thoroughly cooled. Two Harleys now bookended the Letta. One was an old hard tail panhead with a springer front end. Nice. The other was an 883 XR750 replica. Personally, I prefer the Storz conversions, but I applaud the Harley folks playing to the great look of the old XR's. As we were getting ready to pull away, a man crossed the street to say "Nice old bike." As we took off the rain gradually tailed away and the sun returned. A football player type walking with his wife over the Ayd Mill Road overpass gave me the thumbs up. Nice to know it met with his approval.