Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 27, 2018 3:31:40 GMT -5
After literally months of digging through the darkest recesses of my stuff, I finally found the pix of me on the old Hog, as the Easter Bunny!
The year was 1971. I was 25, a year out of the Army, a buff 165 pounds and blessed to be the VP and Creative Director of the hottest ad agency in the Midwest... Our flagship account was Fred Harvey, including the restaurants, Illinois tollway oasis fuel/hospitality units and the new "SHIPWRECK KELLY'S BAR AND GALLEY".
And for those old enough to remember the early seventies in Illinois, yes, I was the wise guy that got the Il Tollway Authority to change those green exit signs from "Food, Fuel and Lodging" to "EAT and GET GAS"... I just never change... LOL!
For the Oak Brook grand opening, we opted to use me... and my trusty Electra-Glide giving rides to all the kiddies and not just a few fun-loving adult mommies. Everybody loved a motorcycle!
Above, here I am in costume... I made SURE the bunny-head was a "friendly" one. Little kids have been scared by some of those truly grotesque bunnies that look like they came from Dr. Frankenstein's lab... Trouble with THIS one was the eyes were a foot apart, so I could only see out of ONE at a time, and then, they were obscured by black screen to hide my smiling face.
It made riding nearly impossible... sense of balance was nil, I could only see a peephole size image with no peripheral vision... I had to grit my teeth and remember my riding buddies who had only one eye, and it didn't work very well... They never crashed, and thankfully, neither did I... Good thing since I often had as many as six little nippers squealing with joy... on the tank, in my lap, on my back,on the buddy seat, and both front and rear fenders...
Hey, if they can do that in INDIA on a scooter, I could doggone-well do it in Chicago!
A lot of memories here... I got to do EVERYTHING... Set the whole "gala" up, hidden eggs and all, rode the bike, painted the signs... I even created an entire alphabet font for the chain: "Shipwreck" which was used in all our advertising.
Those were fun times... no liability insurance, no hassles, and no worries. Moms trusted entire litters of little ones to me and the old Hog, and nobody was disappointed.
Truly a GREAT memory from 47 long years ago...
Among my lost files, I also found some pix of the Hog when new, before painting, and my old BSA Hornet, Honda 305 Superhawk AND "Old Blue"... Didn't know they even existed! I'll make a separate post on them "for posterity"... Some are slides and I'll have to convert them to digital pix.
Ride safe one and all, and do NOT ride in a stupid animal head like this... After 25, you get too smart to try it and you'll surely fall on your face... LOL!
Leo (having a ball perusing these old pix) in Texas
The year was 1971. I was 25, a year out of the Army, a buff 165 pounds and blessed to be the VP and Creative Director of the hottest ad agency in the Midwest... Our flagship account was Fred Harvey, including the restaurants, Illinois tollway oasis fuel/hospitality units and the new "SHIPWRECK KELLY'S BAR AND GALLEY".
And for those old enough to remember the early seventies in Illinois, yes, I was the wise guy that got the Il Tollway Authority to change those green exit signs from "Food, Fuel and Lodging" to "EAT and GET GAS"... I just never change... LOL!
For the Oak Brook grand opening, we opted to use me... and my trusty Electra-Glide giving rides to all the kiddies and not just a few fun-loving adult mommies. Everybody loved a motorcycle!
Above, here I am in costume... I made SURE the bunny-head was a "friendly" one. Little kids have been scared by some of those truly grotesque bunnies that look like they came from Dr. Frankenstein's lab... Trouble with THIS one was the eyes were a foot apart, so I could only see out of ONE at a time, and then, they were obscured by black screen to hide my smiling face.
It made riding nearly impossible... sense of balance was nil, I could only see a peephole size image with no peripheral vision... I had to grit my teeth and remember my riding buddies who had only one eye, and it didn't work very well... They never crashed, and thankfully, neither did I... Good thing since I often had as many as six little nippers squealing with joy... on the tank, in my lap, on my back,on the buddy seat, and both front and rear fenders...
Hey, if they can do that in INDIA on a scooter, I could doggone-well do it in Chicago!
A lot of memories here... I got to do EVERYTHING... Set the whole "gala" up, hidden eggs and all, rode the bike, painted the signs... I even created an entire alphabet font for the chain: "Shipwreck" which was used in all our advertising.
Those were fun times... no liability insurance, no hassles, and no worries. Moms trusted entire litters of little ones to me and the old Hog, and nobody was disappointed.
Truly a GREAT memory from 47 long years ago...
Among my lost files, I also found some pix of the Hog when new, before painting, and my old BSA Hornet, Honda 305 Superhawk AND "Old Blue"... Didn't know they even existed! I'll make a separate post on them "for posterity"... Some are slides and I'll have to convert them to digital pix.
Ride safe one and all, and do NOT ride in a stupid animal head like this... After 25, you get too smart to try it and you'll surely fall on your face... LOL!
Leo (having a ball perusing these old pix) in Texas
and thrilling the crowd like Evel Knievel only a WHOLE lot cuter...