Wyatt Underwood's Website

Harley-Davidson!

The Party!

The Party!

We woke slowly yesterday morning, rose slowly, and moved slowly - or I did. But we finaly got out of here around 1000.

Oops! A local Harley dealer, House of Harley-Davidson, waited to serve us a pancake breakfast. (They didn't wait to serve the more prompt & quick.) They wouldn't have served us if we'd arrived later than 1100. Whew! We didn't.

In fact we arrived down by Summerfest in time to walk around past the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) and see the people running from the just opened gates to the arena that H-D had set up in Veterans Park. Wow! When you see a crowd of people running, I recommend that you see it from the side and from some distance like we did! On the other hand (OTOH), we heard of no injuries, so apparently the crowd did it well!

H-D set up a huge stage with plenty of backstage masked to hide the logistics of putting on a big show. But they protected the park to this extent: they didn't set up bleachers. It was probably a good thing another way: they didn't expect 150,000+ people to show up for their party. The arena accommodated us. Bleachers might not have.

OTOH, the people around Lindy & I (we got lost from TJ & Dennis, but we knew we might, so we took two cars there) decided to call the fine surface of dust that soon collected on all of us a patina. I liked that. Bleachers might have missed giving us all that patina.

[The Party]

Why did people run? To get into the first section, nearer the stage. Lindy and I got into one of the second sections, about one and a half blocks from the stage. You probably know there's actually some comfort in that. And the enormous screens and speakers mean you miss little if anything - so I think.

So clearly we were there long before the real show began at 1800. But H-D didn't leave a crowd like that to its own devices - civilization is too thin a patina. Nope, by the time we settled into our places - they only allowed so many into each of the fenced-off sections of the arena - they played rock'n'roll. But wait! Rock'n'roll I like? Yep! I think they played really popular rock'n'roll from the last 50 years; I didn't know half of it, but what I did know was good to hear again.

I love jeans, but I really love low-rider jeans. This morning I'm not even sure that's the right name, but I do love them. And yes, maybe some people shouldn't wear them, but others definitely - well, I'm glad they do!

We got acquainted with the people around us in that superficial way you do so you can share witticisms with them and vice-versa - or half-witticisms.

[The Party]

After a couple of hours of rock'n'roll, H-D had a couple of Milwaukee radio celebrities put on a telly show for us using the enormous screens already there. It was fun but not very demanding. The couple in front of us slept for an hour, then woke and rejoined the festivities. Another couple had me take their snapshot with the huge H-D stage as a backdrop. How cool to see and hear so many people suddenly "friends for the show!

"Aw c'mon, look happy!" I heard a snapshooter plead. He must've been being facetious. Everyone around me did.

"Did you ever see so many Twins in one family?" reads a billboard in Milwaukee. We learned that in the pre-show. (The H-D engine is a V-Twin.)

Another item we learned, from no less authority than the sheriff in Milwaukee is that Milwaukee health food is Krispy Kremes & coffee.

One more tidbit that enlivened the pre-show: a couple who met on internet, met in person at an H-D dealership in Milwaukee & he bought her a Harley as a wedding gift.

Amazingly, the rock'n'roll & telly show entertained so well that suddenly it was 1800 and we (the audience) were counting down the seconds. We all enjoyed a good laugh when the countdown finished and nothing launched.

But Dan Ackroyd soon emerged and joked with us before some group I knew I ought to know came out and entertained us with rock'n'roll I knew and rock'n'roll I didn't. Okay, okay! I finally asked a neighbor. The Doobie Brothers - duh! Well, at least I knew I should have known them!

Later, Tim McGraw wowed some of us (me, for instance) then brought out Kid Rock. Gosh! He wowed me too! He had me up and dancing around as if I knew how! And laughing at his outrageous lyrics. And giggling at the humor in them. What a delight to learn to like someone new (to me)!

Then Elton John came out and delivered so much more than his recordings reveal! What a showman! Kid Rock joined him for one number and Tim McGraw for another. And - way later than I'd've expected me to stay awake - the music finished.

How did we know? H-D put on the biggest, loudest, most extravagant, and most impressive fireworks show I've ever seen!

Some things H-D couldn't magic though. We still had a long walk out and back to the car. I still needed a burger as part of my winding down from the show. And we still had to drive home following MapQuest instructions. They're good, but sometimes I don't understand them until I've tried the wrong thing.

Fortunately Lindy drove and asked for directions and we got "home" by 0200.

Yes "home". Thank you TJ & Dennis for making us so welcome and so comfortable in your wonderful house out here in this lovely neighborhood, so shaded and secluded by your trees!

Intrusion from 2024

Here are links to the other pages from 2003 or thereabouts.

Pieces of The Trip: