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'Billy Bob Bones' welcomes Halloween astride Harley
Oh, and he loves riding motorcycles, too. The macabre creation of Wharton County Junior College band director Joe Waldrop, "Billy Bob Bones" is an odd - though dependable - riding partner. Every October, Waldrop affixes Billy Bob to the seat of his Harley Davidson Heritage Softail and takes him out for a spin. "That's the month he rides," Waldrop said. The pair has been riding together for the last eight years. A self-affirmed Halloween fanatic, Waldrop had the skeleton dummy originally situated among hay bales as part of an Oct. 31 display. On a whim, Waldrop decided one day to see what Billy Bob would look like on the back of a motorcycle. "Everybody liked it, so I left it there," he said. People in general seem drawn to Billy Bob. With a black bandana tied around his skull and a black shirt emblazoned with "Bad to the Bone" - and with blinking red eyes and a movable jaw - Billy Bob attracts plenty of attention. While Waldrop's teaching, Billy Bob hangs out on the back of the motorcycle in the parking lot and visits with inquisitive passersby. It's common to have people stop and take a picture. He used to sing as well, but apparently lost his voice somewhere along the way. "I guess he got wet," Waldrop said. Waldrop doesn't mind people taking pictures with Billy Bob, and adds that, at least so far, no one has ever tried to vandalize the dummy or steal it. That's not to say the blackdressed skeleton hasn't stirred up some trouble. Waldrop says he was once stopped by police - twice in one night - after someone mistook Billy Bob for a child. "A lot of people like my little rider; the police aren't real thrilled though," he said. In his fourth year at WCJC, Waldrop plans to continue to share his motorcycle with his companion - at least one month out of the year. And the rest of the time? "He's stuffed in a box and put into the attic," Waldrop said. |
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