Author: Marty Luster

Manny Simoes, supervised by David Cox, captures another Gloucester smile.

and the sea.

Manny Simoes (Gloucester Smiles) and David Cox on their daily photo hunt.

Why Are Harley Motorcycles Called Hogs?
By Mario Corbin
eHow Contributor

The term “hog” has been associated with Harley-Davidson motorcycles since the early 1920s. Many businesses like Hula-Hogs in Maui, Hawaii, and Hogs-R-Us in Cork, Ireland, draw business based on this association.

Harley’s Racing Mascot

• Harley-Davidson has a long and rich history in motorcycle racing. According to Missy Scott, author of “Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company,” a team of farm boys who raced professionally for Harley-Davidson was affectionately known as the “hog boys” and used a pet pig as a mascot. After each win, one of the team members would carry the pig with him on the victory lap.

Harley’s Owners Group (H.O.G.)

• Harley’s Owners Group (H.O.G.) began in 1983. The acronym “hog” was adopted to commemorate Harley’s racing history. It has since become the world’s largest motorcycle club, boasting more than 1,400 chapters around the world. A one-year membership subscription is free with the purchase of a new Harley.

Hogs Today

• Although associated with Harley-Davidson, any custom motorcycle can be considered a hog. According to the authors of “The Legal Environment of Business,” the term “hog” is generic. It has been applied to large motorcycles since 1935 and hence cannot be trademarked by Harley-Davidson.

One of the joys of digital photography is the opportunity it presents for thinking outside the box and experimenting with oddball techniques.

This photo was taken in a very dimly lit restaurant in Portland, Maine a few years ago. I was intrigued by the illumination of the woman’s face by her cell phone. I shot at a slow shutter speed and high ISO (sensitivity) to gather all the light that was available. The result is a grainy, blurry, wispy photo –  attributes you usually don’t want to see. However, I think it works here to create a somewhat eerie, dreamlike image.

Hard at work on the Stacy Boulevard seawall project.

Here and There

When I was a kid, I spent my summers

near my grandfather’s farm in Port Benjamin,

in upstate New York. Port Ben wasn’t a port

anymore, not since 1900 when

the train replaced the D & H canal.

Anyway, the Rondout Creek ran near our house

and provided a great place to play, fish,

swim and have adventures that are with me

sharp and clear after more than sixty years.

To get to the creek, we had to cross a

hayfield, which, if recently mowed, was tough

on our bare feet , climb down the creek bank on

a rickety staircase and cross the muddy

bottom land on a wobbly wooden walk.

Here’s the point. While walking Atlantic Street

the other day, as in a foggy dream,

I found that old boardwalk spread over the

flooded soggy salt marsh, no doubt trod by

kids with sixty years of adventures remembered.

© Marty Luster 2011

Encore, first posted December 11, 2011.

Photo taken exactly one year ago.