Biker Larry

The Swamp Road Chronicles^®

"Biker Larry”

A bunch of us used to hang around the little tavern there in Kirkersville, it was owned by a lady named 'Marg' she was sweet and tough, kind of like teriyaki beef jerky. She kept the place in order and made it welcoming at the same time. You know, sometimes a group of us old boys can get a little rowdy, but she kept a firm hand on the situation.

Many a Friday night a bunch of us bikers would show up for a few games of pool and a few beers and some of her bratwurst sandwiches. Those brats were the best thing ever, her boyfriend Freddie would grill them out back over a home-made smoking grill he made from an old oil drum. He said he only used well-aged apple wood for the coals, and it really made a difference.

Well, one night someone brought up the legend of "Swamp Road Sally" some guys said they had seen her and some guys said it was a crock of… well, you know. Anyway, everyone had an opinion and comments were flying fast and furious.

There was one fella named Chase who spoke up and said that he saw her once when he was a teenager and it nearly scared him to death. He was tall, lean and had that "look" to him that told you he had nothing to lose and you better not start with him 'cause he would finish it, not you. No one made fun of him when he said he had nightmares about her for years after that. He seemed dead serious when he said he wouldn't go on Swamp Road at night for a thousand dollars.

But, there was this one mean-looking older fellow named Larry who said real loud: "Y'all afraid of a ghost? A little girl ghost? Why, I would fight the devil hisself if he showed up right here, right now. I sure as hell ain't afraid of no ghost." He walked up to the bar and leaned with his elbow on the bar top and his boot propped up on the foot rail and looked all around to see if anyone was going to dispute him. No one did.

He was feeling pretty cocky at that point, I guess, so he went "all in". He said, "I'll go over there right now and show you. All of you. Who wants to go with me?" No one volunteered to go with him. Someone said, "You go on ahead Larry, we'll believe you," and so, he did.

Most of the men from Marg's went to his funeral, just out of respect, for a fellow biker, you know. No one will ever know exactly what happened out there that night on Swamp Road, but a Highway Patrolman saw how Larry died. The cop was driving west-bound on US 40 and approaching Swamp Road when he saw someone on a Harley come shooting off of Swamp Road at a tremendous speed. The motorcyclist turned left and roared off so hard that his rear tire was throwing up a big cloud of white smoke and he was swerving back and forth. The officer said the driver kept looking backward over his shoulder like someone was after him. Larry lost control of his hog and slammed head-on into an approaching truck. He was killed instantly the trooper said. "Decapitated", the newspaper said.

Did he see something that terrified him? Was something chasing him? Like I said, no one will ever know. If you do go on Swamp Road, don't go alone, so there will at least be witnesses.

As submitted by Gil Miller 1-12-2023

swamproad.com