Chapter 8: Sorpresa Da Rimini

Carmel by the Sea is located on the Monterey peninsula. The surf meets the California coast where Spanish mariners and missionaries of the past, left their great ships and stepped foot onto what they considered to be ungodly land. They came to bring Christianity to the native people, but along with colonization came disease and famine. The once great northern coastal nation of the Ohlone people are now virtually extinct and, in its place, white man’s civilization thrives.

In the smoldering heat of mid-June of 1967, almost two hundred years later, travelers of a different sort will descend upon this seaside paradise to pay homage to the prophets of electrified psalms. They won’t arrive in seafaring vessels, but vessels piloted on the endless highways of America and their vessels will steer not by rudder, but by motorized machines of the new world. The People’s cars fly banners of conquest, but the conquered are long gone.Some congregants come by motorcycle, as would Henry and Sorpresa. They’ve planned this trip for months. Henry wasn't going to miss the Warlocks biggest performance. Henry claimed, he named the band a new name, when the original name of the band was already in use back east. As Henry tells it.

I had ingested some bad acid and I thought I was dying. Trippin’, I said I’d be eternally grateful if y’all gave me a proper wake. Bobby, maybe Phil who were just as high as I, said “Then you’d be gratefully dead bro!” That’s when I knew, the band was better off Gratefully dead than hand-me-down Warlocks!

The Monterey Pop festival lasted three days from Friday to Sunday. By the third day, Sorpresa and Henry were ready to leave. They packed their bedrolls, smoked another joint, burned some eggs in the skillet and said their goodbyes to new found friends. They mounted their motorcycles and set course for Carmel, before riding to San Jose to connect with more riders. It was very late in the afternoon and the sun was beginning to set over the bay. Seagulls of various sizes had invaded the parking lot of the music festival and riders chased them away with stones or assorted refuse. Just as Sorpresa mounted her bike, a very large gull flew down and sat on the handlebars. She attempted to shoe it away.

"Get the fuck off my bike ya crazy bird!”

The bird flew off, but not without first screeching a premonitory caw. Sorpresa shrugged it off as just the effects of some good weed and thought nothing of it.

“What's the problem babe?” asked Henry.

"Nothing’ Hank. I’m so fuckin’ high I thought that bird said somethin’ to me!”

“It probably did, but you’re not listening, as the old Injun woman would say!”

"Bite me Henry. I hate that Injun shit! Let’s ride so we make Carmel before the sun goes down, I think my front light is out."

“I told you back in Lompoc, it was out!”

“Yeah, and I told you I didn’t have the cash! So, screw you!”

Henry said he was going to hang back a few minutes. The band invited him for one for the road and he wasn’t about to pass it up. They agreed to meet later at the Juniper motel in Carmel.

Sorpresa mounted her Sportster Harley and headed south on highway one. Sorpresa traveled at a high rate of speed when she came upon a Volkswagen microbus moving much slower. Numerous attempts to pass were thwarted by oncoming traffic. She backed off two car lengths, and when she saw no oncoming vehicles she accelerated and passed. A large panel truck was entering the highway from a blind driveway, so to avoid colliding with the van she immediately steered to the far -right side of the road. She over compensated and entered a gravel runoff that caused the bike to spin back into the path of the Volkswagen bus. The bus clipped the rear tire of the Harley and launched rider and machine into the opposing shoulder. She was stopped by a guard rail. Surprisingly, she was still alive, sitting upright and holding her leg with both hands. A young man from the VW bus pulled over on the gravel shoulder and bolted to the rider.

"Hey man, I’m really sorry, are you Okay?”

"You broke my fuckin leg, dipshit. Call an ambulance. It hurts!”

“How would I do that? I’ll flag down the next car!”

Sorpresa took her helmet off and long dark locks fell forward into her face.

“You’re a chick, Man!”

“No shit dickweed. Thanks for nothing! Hey, do me a favor. I think you owe me that.”

“Sure, anything Ma’am!”

“Give this number to the ambulance driver, that is if I pass out …”

The young man bent down to retrieve the note and Sorpresa slumped to the pavement. He tried to revive her. She was unresponsive. When he attempted to remove the bike that laid on the good leg, her head moved listlessly to the side as if it was no longer attached to her body. The Monterey county ambulance arrived thirty minutes later. The ambulance driver asked the young man if she said anything to him before she died.

"Yea man, she said her leg was broken."

"That’s pretty obvious guy, anything else?"

"She said give this note to Frankie.”

“Who’s Frankie?”

"Don’t know man. Don’t know.”

Henry had taken an alternative route and was now at Juniper’s motel. He turned on the TV.

There has been an accident on highway one near the airport. One fatality, the young woman on her motorcycle perished at the scene. She has no identification. The woman is Caucasian, black hair and a wolf tattoo on her left shoulder. If you know anyone fitting this description you are instructed to contact the Monterey county state police

Henry mounted his full dresser Harley Davidson and rode into the night as a large gray and white seagull perched on the motel sign, witnessed his hasty exit.