But Would a Real Rebel Be Caught Dead Wearing a Wig?
Necessity, as you know, is the (unwed) mother of invention.
A little ridicule (and a chance to make a buck) can prod the procreative process, too.
Steve Larimore was riding his Harley Davidson Softtail Springer one day (and wearing his helmet) when a fellow Harley rider pulled up and leveled him:
“Hey man, are you weird? Harley Davidson riders don’t wear helmets! They’re rebels!!!”
Larimore, 45, who owns America’s Finest City Promotions ad agency, began to ponder.
He decided there must be a way to induce motorcyclists to wear helmets (thus complying with state law and protecting their brain pans) while still maintaining their danger-go-to-hell image.
He remembered seeing a biker who had glued a mop to his helmet as a protest to the helmet law.
From there it was a small step to Wigout, a line of motorcycle helmets with designer (synthetic) wig hairdos glued to the top, ranging from $159 to $189.
There are now 11 models: the standard Rebel, Elvira (of TV horror film fame), Dolly (curly blonde locks), Punk, Nita, Tom Jones (curly black locks), Princess, Mohawk (straight down the middle), Hulk, Willie (Willie Nelson of the Indian braids) and Liz (Taylor).
There’s also a National Football League license pending on the Raider, which is silver and black and has the pirate with eye patch.
So far, Wigouts are available at Cycle Parts West and Miramar Cycles in San Diego and South Coast Harley Davidson in Chula Vista. Tomorrow, who knows?
Larimore met the grandson scion of Harley Davidson at the most recent River Run in Laughlin, Nev. (the annual gathering of the tribes for motorcyclists).
He’s dreaming of a marketing agreement. He thinks he’s tapped a vein of non-conformist but safety-conscious bikers.
Larimore’s own choice is a long black mane falling to his midback. Kind of like an extra from “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.”
He says he was stopped in Mission Beach by a traffic cop who just wanted to ask about his headdress.
“It’s an artistic creation, really,” Larimore says.
Caught in a Vise
A diversity of items.
* The San Francisco Chronicle has decided that California isn’t just one state but several mini-states.
The paper calls San Diego and Orange counties “a slice of middle America caught between two foreign countries: Mexico and Los Angeles.”
* Fallbrook racist Tom Metzger was sentenced to do community service with minority groups as penance for his cross-burning conviction in Los Angeles.
Problem. None of the groups he’s contacted--Urban League, NAACP, etc.--want anything to do with him.
* Escondido police and the district attorney’s office have snatched 50 individuals recently identified as having long criminal records (theft and drug sales being very popular) and a penchant for using multiple aliases.
It’s a common dodge that allows a con to get several chances at being a first offender (and thus escape the heavier penalties for repeat customers).
“Anybody who is a transient routinely uses aliases,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Bob Amador said. “When you don’t carry identification anyway, it is an easy thing to do.”
The alias checks were compiled by detective Rick Rodriguez, who got tired of seeing the same faces with different names.
The 50 are now in various venues of incarceration. Although the 50 were all in this country illegally, it was their criminal history, not their immigration status, that targeted them, Amador said:
“These are people who are undocumented aliens but documented crooks.”
The owners of an apartment house where many of the 50 were living were not displeased: They sent a thank-you cake to the Escondido P.D.
Mum’s the Word
Question: When is a fashion statement also a crime?
Answer: When the crook smashes the window of a tuxedo shop and swipes some formal wear.
It happened recently around midnight to Jessica’s Gift & Rental, a tux and trimming shop in North Park.
A style-conscious thief hurled a large rock through the front window, grabbed a $400 black tuxedo and went running (late for a wedding maybe?).
The only witness was a mannequin.
