Sweating with the PGR

I was short on excuses when I woke up this morning, so I rode over to Sharpsville for a Patriot Guard Rider mission.
The occasion was the funeral of Matt Thompson, a member of the Tipton County Sheriff's Department and a candidate for sheriff in the November election.
Thompson was killed last weekend in a motorcycle-van collision. And, yes, he was wearing a helmet but got killed anyway.
I rolled out about 8:10 a.m. in humid thick fog and spent a lot of time wiping the moisture off of my visor.
I got to the site - the Tri-Central High School parking lot - in plenty of time and volunteered to be part of the flag detail, holding an American flag near the school entrance for about an hour while mourners and guests filed in. I had misjudged the weather and was wearing a long-sleeved black t-shirt commemorating the 2004 BMWMOA national rally in Spokane.
The sky was partly cloudy and the atmosphere was very soupy with only an occasional breeze, so we sweltered as we stood at parade rest.
There were about 60 of us PGR types there and we were told that the widow wanted us right behind her car.
Unfortunately, things got crossed up and the PGR contingent ended up falling in behind about 100 other motorcyclists who had shown up.
We rode the 6 miles south to the Tipton County Jail, and then began a ride of 8 miles or so to the cemetery at Windfall.
It was kind of a trip riding through Tipton under these circumstances, since that's where I began my career in newspapers 40 years ago this fall.
The old Tipton Tribune building is gone and a new police and fire headquarters stands in its place. I'm not sure where the newspaper office is now.
By the time we got to the McDonald's on the east edge of town, it was about 90 degrees and I was in desperate need of a restroom, so I peeled off and rode south on Ind. 19 to Cicero.
That's where I am now, blogging from a McDonald's and finishing my lunch.
An over-zealous McFlunky just tried to clear my table and take my tray, but I'm not done with my fries. Take a hike, kid.
Oh, by the way.
The hearse was a cheesy looking affair pulled by a Harley-Davidson that had been converted from 2 wheels to 3. Most of my H-D riding companions thought it was way cool.

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Sent from my Treo