BLACK AND SILVER SMOKEY EYE

Silver short shorts!
Only in Portland during Pedalpalooza could you lead and event called the Short Shorts Scandinavian Pride Ride and over 100 participants will show up!

The pre-ride picnic in Piccolo Park in SE Portland brought around 20. What a feast of open sandwiches with a choice of cheeses included Brunost, the Norwegian brown cheese and IKEA pickled herring and salmon. Also homemade sour cherry jam (Deena!), lingon berry jam, and Lefse! Dan Miller picked up some on his trip to Minnesota, and I don’t know of anything tastier!

As more short shorts arrived, I ushered them to the flag making station with paper and crayons and also Elly was taking portraits in the park. At one point the Yoga by Bike Ride converged in the park. But there wasn’t much intermingling. Soon the tiny park was a sea of short shorts and homemade flags on bikes, ready to parade around town. I asked if there were any native Scandinavians, but we were all Americanized or a Swede for the day. Thanks to Shawn G for bringing a portable ‘bull horn’ so people could have slightly more of a clue of what was going on.

The bike route was done “Viking Style.” At the start, Carl Larson –the original inspiration for the ride* – treated us all to an extended Ladd’s Addition alleyway ride. Through out the entire night we yelled out “Who’s got Short Shorts! We’ve got Short Shorts! We then rode over the Hawthorne bridge to Keller Fountain for a short break, a few folks got in the water, and why not, as we were wearing short shorts.

Then we biked through downtown to the Pearl for another fountain visit at Jamison Square and a group photo. Though the funny thing is as we all got up and posed, I realized our photographers had left the ride. Luckily Tom and couple others stepped in. We headed back eastside, but this time we did it crazy Scandinavian style. We bike over the top of Steel Bridge! On the road! And lastly the ride ended at Norse Hall, where the ladies generously opened up the Oslo Lounge – Horny Troll Bar just for us. And boy were they pleased with our group – now at about 50! Many a drink was poured including the house special, the Horny Troll (orange juice and Akvavit ). The ladies knew I was in charge of this crew and poured strong, and soon I was taking lots of blurry short short pictures. Wow, is it only Thursday?

*Carl Larson was seen in a Norwegian sweater and short shorts on the annual January Palm Tree Ride – and the idea to do a Short Shorts Scandinavian Pride Ride was born!

The 16th Liverpool Company Boys Brigade. The picture was taken from the now demolished house that was used by the BB situated in Green Lane Tuebrook. Behind the lads is the newly erected Bankfield Girls School and behind that was the original Tue Brook which flowed from Queens Drive I believe. Beyond that was a farm which ran alongside Mill Bank. We played football and cricket on the field there and used the old barn as dressing rooms. I enjoyed the BB although it got a bit heavy religion wise. But there I am, the only trumpeter with shorts. We graduated to bugles shortly after and I had the silver bugle to lead the band! (All went well until my lips collapsed on a march one day!) There was a hall behind the old house where we had parades and drill and also gym and other activities. The old house had lots of rooms on about three or four floors where different activities took place - one being boxing. A few of the lads in the photo were pretty tough kids at school and when I joined I was surprised to see them there. I stayed from age 11 to 15 when I got a job. I had been in the cubs and scouts before I joined but I was hopeless at knots and most other things and went into the scouts 'blind' as the horrified Arkayla (how is it spelt?) told me. I had no stars on my cap. No other badges either. Hopeless. But in the BB I got a buglers badge and a gym badge and got to play football and cricket. Good times for a kid.