REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
By John Tredrea, Staff Writer
Some things can give you hope. The outcome of an election, say. Some can make you smile — like who won the World Series, maybe.
But to see something in person — not on television or your computer, but in person — that makes you laugh until you’re out of air: that’s manna from where-have-you.
On Halloween, a gorilla — or somebody dressed up just like one, from head to toe — rode a motorcycle through Pennington’s main downtown intersection at least three times. When I saw this, I remember thinking I was surprised I was still able to laugh that hard. It reminded me of the first time I saw Curly in “The Three Stooges.” It was just too good to seem possible. It was more humor than you had thought the universe could still hold.
This gorilla had style to burn. His fur was jet black and it was pretty long. It shone and trailed behind him in the breeze the speed on his beautiful black and silver Harley-Davidson created. The way his helmet was tilted slightly back on his head, and the way his helmet strap went under his ape chin, were, well, just right. I never saw anything funnier in my life. Talk about making your Halloween.
The capper was the last time I saw him come through the intersection of Main Street and Delaware Avenue. He had to stop for the red light. He was there for about a minute. With his chin jauntily up, he revved his motor every few seconds and looked casually around here and there. It seemed exactly what a gorilla would do if he were riding a motorcycle and had to stop for a red light. By the time the light changed, I had been laughing so much I was seeing spots before my eyes.
I waved to him. The gorilla, cool as can be, gave me a convivial thumbs-up sign. Then he hung a slick right onto East Delaware Avenue. I watched him go. He turned right on Abey Drive.
I walked home in a great mood, giving thanks for that gorilla.