Feeling like a stranger in a strange land

I rode Maria’s acid green 1994 BMW K75S down to the D.A.R.E. to Ride Classic motorcycle event last evening in downtown Jonesboro.
I went first to Charlie and Deb’s place and then headed for Main Street with Charlie, who was riding his R1200GS. Deb followed later on her 1975 R75/6, which she entered in the bike show. I assume she would have called by now if she won.
We had dinner at Godsey’s Grill then hung out in the steamy 90+ degree evening air, watching the parade of bikes.
Deb stayed close to her bike, lobbying for votes, while Charlie and I patrolled the street in search of ice cream and interesting things to look at.
My feet were hurting and I decided I’d had enough by 7:30, so I said good night to my friends and walked back to where my bike was parked in front of Gearheads Outfitters.
As I pulled on my jacket, a slightly drunk middle-aged woman opined that she didn’t know BMW still made motorcycles. She and a younger friend apparently found this one-of-a-kind custom painted K75S to be utterly fascinating and had a lot of questions about what is the “best” motorcycle and what I thought might be a good entry-level motorcycle for a beginner.
Midway through our conversation, a guy whose chopper was parked a couple of bikes away decided to fire up his engine and show off his straight pipes to his friends.

One of these things is not like the others.

I told the ladies to cover their ears as I pushed the starter button on the BMW. I could barely hear the engine for all of the Harley noise in the street.
About this time, another bleary eyed drunk woman who reeked of cigarette smoke asked if she could take a ride on the back of my bike.
“Sorry, but you don’t have a helmet. Nobody rides on this bike without a helmet.”
I left her standing there with a dull, confused look on her face.