Rip's B.A.D Ride XII
June 13-14, 2009, Southern California
Rip's B.A.D Ride, Bikers Against Diabetes, is a motorcycle ride and festival to benefit the American Diabetes Association. For more information, see www.ripsbadride.com.
I found out shortly before the event that Larry Hagman was going to attend the Southern California ride. My friends and fellow Larry Hagman fans Barbara and Kimberlee decided to join me. I had contacted two people involved in Rip's B.A.D Ride, Jessica and Chino, for information. They were impressed that we would come all the way from New Jersey to attend. We were looking forward to meeting them.
There was a VIP party the night before for people who raised $500 or more, which we attended. Barbara was going to the space shuttle lunch on Saturday the 13th, and got a flight out of Florida which was to get in at 6:30pm. Unfortunately, the shuttle launch was cancelled at the last minute! The party started at 6pm, at Knott's Berry Farm. Kimberlee and I arrived around 6:15. There were a lot of items up for silent auction, biker oriented, of course! We walked around the auction tables, then the rest of the party area, looking for Larry. He wasn't there yet. A man came up to us, asking if we were the ones from New Jersey, then introduced us to Chino. I think he recognized me from my web site. Chino had been telling EVERYONE about us! He introduced us to Jessica, who is very friendly and enthusiastic. A very, very nice group! There was food available, but we had eaten earlier and were not hungry. A bar served beer and wine, and nearby soda machine contained, unfortunately for me, Pepsi products. I had a bit of Mountain Dew, which didn't taste bad, but looked like piss!
There was still no sign of Larry, and we started to get worried. Jessica called, and found they were stuck in traffic. Chino looked out for us the entire time. He came up to me and and pointed. There he was, the man we came to see. Jeans, "Ugly" T-shirt (The Ugly Motorcycle Club), Rip's B.A.D Ride jacket, black Harley hat, and a mustache! Larry looked REALLY great! I got Kimberlee, who was nearby, and approached Larry. I hugged and kissed him on the cheek, and Kimberlee gave him a big hug! I, with my ears stuffed up from flying, thought he called me Judy. Luckily I didn't say anything. Kimberlee corrected me later: it was "cutie," so much better! He joked that everywhere he goes, we show up! We got some photos, then let him mingle. Larry was eating at a full table, so we didn't bother him there. We found Maj by the soda machine and hugged and kissed her hello. "We're over there" she said. We talked for a few minutes then let her go back to Larry and his friends, telling her we would see her later.
We were getting worried about Barbara at this point. Kimberlee had been leaving messages for her as the evening progressed. Larry and Maj came by and we talked to them for a while. One of the organizers asked Larry if he wanted to go on stage before or after a little girl who raised a lot of money for diabetes research. He said before, of course!
There was a band, very loud, even with my "airplane ears"! Later, up on stage, the presentations began. They told about Rip's B.A.D Ride, thanked everyone, and had speakers come up. Kimberlee and I were snapping photos of Larry as he spoke. Suddenly someone tapped me, then gave me a big hug. It was Barbara!! After flight delays and cab issues, she made it, and walked in to the sound of Larry's voice! It was getting dark, and hard to take photos, but we got what we could. They unfortunately didn't turn on all of the stage lights.
Afterwards, we asked Larry if he would be able to sign items, which he seems to enjoy, but not as much as we do! He said sure, and went to find a table for us. Kimberlee had several photos, some from the 2008 KCLU fundraiser where Larry was wearing his purple "pimp suit"! Larry told me he was going to Spain to be in a soap opera in a few weeks, and mentioned to Kimberlee that he had spoken to Linda Gray earlier that day. I had a magazine with Larry and Linda Gray on the cover, and a photo of Larry with Bert Lahr in the 1962 Broadway comedy "The Beauty Part." Maj wanted to see what I had. I think she is a fan as well as his wife! Larry took out a flashlight to look at Kimberlee's photo, and out came chopsticks with it! "Doesn't everyone carry chopsticks?" he said, then told the story of how he bought the pimp suit. Next we wanted more photos with him, of course. Once again, just like he did in Austin, he patted his leg and motioned for me to sit on his lap! One by one, we all got our lap photos. This is becoming a habit! We love it!! Larry asked us to watch his bag, and he went off with Maj to mingle. Now THERE's a creative way to get rid of us! There was an auction, with Larry trying to get people pay $500 for J.R. Beer! Well, I already have it, and it is not worth anywhere near $500, so no one bid on that. Poor Larry!
Larry came by our table to get his bag, saying he thought there was dessert being served. Wishful thinking, Larry, this is a diabetes event! He went towards the building where food was being served earlier. Actually, they were set up to have people pick up and pay for their auction items. We said goodbye to Maj, and they were off. We stayed a bit longer, said goodbye to Chino, and left.
The next day was the ride itself. We don't ride motorcycles at all, so we just went to the festival at Oak Canyon Park. Nice location, very remote. No cell service. We signed in, just in time, Chino was there! We went to the VIP area, where I got a vest as a gift for raising $500, very nice! We walked around the festival site, taking photos. Back at the VIP area, we found a table in the back which allowed us to survey the area. It took a LONG time for Larry to arrive, making us nervous once again. Chino looked out for us. Again, he was the first one to spot Larry. He mimicked me seeing Larry for the first time at an event, very funny! Larry said "I just saw you 18 hours ago" to Barbara, and did a double take at Kimberlee's cleavage. We greeted Maj, then went back to our table. Chino came by every once in a while, introducing us to some friends of his, who jokingly called us stalkers, coming all the way from New Jersey! Just me and Barbara. Kimberlee got a pass because she's a California girl! Or maybe it was the cleavage ;)
Everyone was great and we enjoyed meeting them. They were happy that we made such an effort to come to their event. Larry was hanging around mingling, so we approached and got more photos, getting to snuggle with him. A guy from Easy Rider magazine was interrupting. God, those media people can be rude! Still, we have to check that magazine for photos! I went over to Maj, where Barabara and Kimberlee were already. We had a nice, fairly long conversation with her, during which she said that Linda Gray was her very best friend. Kimberlee, Linda's #1 fan, was delighted!
There were announcements on stage, much like the night before, and we went out and got photos of Larry, some with the Hooter girls. Next, the band, Aeromyth (ha,ha), came on. Once again, WAY too loud for my taste, but they were very good. I had a badly timed bathroom break, ran into Chino, who told us Larry was walking around. I thanked him and but couldn't find Larry or Barbara and Kimberlee. I walked around, looking at the booths and many custom motorcycles. Then I spotted Larry coming my way in a golf cart. When I waved, Larry said Hi! and waved back. As they passed, I waved to Maj and their friend in the cart's backwards facing seats. They both waved back. I then ran into Kimberlee and Barbara, who said they had also exchanged waves with Larry as he went by. We watched from a distance as they rode up the hill and out of the area.
After they left, we went back to the VIP area and talked with Chino for a while. He is hilarious, so cute! As we left we noticed a Rip's B.A.D Ride Banner covered with signatures, including, Larry and Maj's. Chino's too! All of the signatures were in black but I had a gold sharpie, which Kimberlee, Barbara and I used to sign our names near Larry's! We said goodbye to Chino and headed to dinner to discuss the experience.
We had a great time at Rip's B.A.D Ride! We met many wonderful people, and were especially happy at how warm, open and friendly Larry and Maj were to us. We love them!
For the complete story of a series of Larry Hagman events, see About This Site.