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Moraga's Midnight Marauder Unmasked

For the past several weeks a lone rider cruising Moraga's back roads on a custom Harley has awakened more people than a dozen old fashioned Big Ben alarm clocks. Last night -- or this morning, actually -- we found out who he was.

 

Talk in our Moraga neighborhood these last few weeks has centered around our gardens and "The Midnight Marauder" -- a motorcyclist with a meaty Harley and one helluva sound system aboard.

He usually rumbles through our neck of the woods a little after midnight, the potato potato potato growl of the Harley signaling his arrival, followed seconds later by some rap or 80s groove tunes delivered at concert levels.

Those of us hoping to cadge a little sleep before the 5 a.m. buzzer goes off have been levitated out of our comfy little beds at the noise and a couple of the neighbors have set out in search of Mr. Marauder, only to come up short every time.

Until last night... or this morning, I mean. I was catapulted out of bed at 12:10 a.m. by some Peaches and Herb or something, I don't know, I was too groggy to identify it. The music was so loud I thought it was in the next room and I stomped off in the direction of the kids rooms to chew some tail when I realized it was outside, on Saint Mary's Road.

Very funny moment with me struggling into jeans and slippers and heading out in the direction of the noise, which was still strong from about 100 yards away. By the time I got there his taillights were receding in the dark. I drove onto the campus at SMC and asked if anyone there had seen or heard a guy on a big Harley with a big sound system.

Some smiles, some laughs, some shaking of heads, and then: "Oh yeah, that's (name withheld for now), he's a campus safety officer here."

Picture my mouth moving without words coming out, the illogical picture of a campus police officer being the noise violator responsible for waking an entire neighborhood causing my sleep-deprived synapses to misfire and slam into each other like some malfunctioning supercollider.

I recovered enough to file a formal complaint and drove slowly home, shaking my head. I'm hoping officer X had a pleasant ride home (disturbing how many countless other people in the process) because tomorrow, or today... whatever, I'm hoping we can have a talk.

About noise, about music... maybe about bikes. But mainly about common sense, and civil courtesy. We've caught you, Marauder!

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Chris Nicholson May 19, 2013 at 09:38 am
LamoMan: "Back to school" is beginning of year and "Open House" is toward theRead More end. W/R/T high school, I agree with you that it's not as fun as K-5. I was disappointed, for example, to see no exemplary integral homework stapled to the wall of Calculus class-- I love the funny f/s hybrid symbol. Basically, I was bullied into attending by my wife (and the lure of Taco Truck catering). In seriousness, it was nice to stop by and (re)connect names and faces and be reminded of the dedication and talent of many (but not, ahem, all) of the teachers we're lucky enough to have here.
LamorindaMan May 18, 2013 at 11:46 pm
I don't have children so maybe I'm missing something. But, what is the point of an open house at theRead More high school level and what is the point of an open house at the end of the school year? What do they do at open house for high schoolers?
Vincent Carter May 17, 2013 at 01:21 am
At $400,000 of Tax Payer money i expected it to be the Contract Negotaitor.
Carlos Garcia May 16, 2013 at 04:43 pm
I imagine the person was a trainer
lovelafayette May 15, 2013 at 10:44 am
This brochure took a lot of work by a small group of people, supported by a cast of 400! We needRead More your help! PRINT AND SHARE AND POST this great flyer/sign. Parks is conducting a stealth campaign for BMX, NO PUBLICITY ALLOWED!! Jennifer Russell is hounding me personally using the CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER as a tool. I have been threatened with fines and fees, citations and misdemeanors, for informing the public about BMX. “Someone” posted our iconic signs, “Your Park with BMX”, on all the park public forum bulletin boards! No photos of the mystery posters exist, Jennifer lied and told code enforcement I admitted to posting THAT sign. I admitted posting signs about the April 8 meeting, but that is not the sign I am charged with! Please help confound the code enforcement officer by printing and posting and distributing this great flyer. Take it to church, youth group, PTA meetings. We could try our own stealth campaign, all wear Giants baseball hats and black hoodies! The rest of the story is at: WWW.NOLAFAYETTEBIKEPARK.COM and www.lafayettebikepark.com (city site) Suzanne Sommer lovelafayette@msn.com
Beau Behan April 23, 2013 at 03:00 pm
Hi Everyone, Thanks for dropping by PATCH. We really appreciate your taking the time. Hard toRead More imagine at times that Tom Cruise has been in the showbiz for at least three decades now.. It is as if it were just yesterday when I first watched "The Outsiders". We will have more film reviews for you all.. Thanks again. Beau
c5 April 23, 2013 at 02:12 pm
He was great in 'Risky Business', still one of my all time favorites. "Ok, which one of you isRead More the U-boat commander?".... :)
KAC April 22, 2013 at 09:56 pm
Tom Cruise? Pass...
LamorindaMan April 17, 2013 at 10:43 am
Will this workshop benefit motorcyclists? Bicycle riding requires way too much work. I'd rather rideRead More a motorcycle and let the engine do all the heavy lifting.
Napoleon Solo April 16, 2013 at 03:44 pm
They think they are doing something for the environment. When one of my kids had to do a schoolRead More project showing they were using recycled materials, I did not have anything reasonable around and had to go to the store, buy a large soda bottle, and pour it down the drain when I got home so there was a "recycled" item for the project. How did that save the environment?
CJ April 16, 2013 at 03:30 pm
Really?- How long is this farce going to be pushed? This has been going on for what seems likeRead More forever. 10 kids (of Envirotreehuggers) and 2- Environazi's will get on their bikes and ride to school and their nearby offices. While the rest of the reasonable people see this for what it is.....ridiculous. This will never be practical and if you want to be so, then do it without all the nonsense. I used to bike 15miles to my job and back, but that was when I was a wacked out Triathlete trying to qualify for Ironman. It is ridiculous as a daily practice for a myriad of reasons. Sustainable Lafaytette? - I sincerely hope this is not an actual public tax money paid position.
TMoraga April 19, 2013 at 12:49 pm
Hey Paula you don't get it. It doesn't matter what happened. #1 School property is not an off leashRead More location. School district insurance doesn't cover such thing. And yes this is a big liability issue. Dogs! Do not belong on CAMPUS! It really is not hard to understand however if one can't grasp why this is a bad idea they probably should not have a dog in their stewardship either.
Paula Capps April 19, 2013 at 11:28 am
The dog group at Stanley has been going to the school for decades. We have always cleaned up afterRead More the dogs and everyone gets along beautifully. It's been a strong sense of community I myself gained from the group of kind and friendly owners. The incident that stemmed this has become distorted. There are other witnesses besides the parents who literally screamed at a very nice mild mannered young man. They cursed at him and treated him like dirt. What kind of an example was that to a child? His dog was not mean, excited yes, but in fact the dog diid NOT even touch the little girl. The girl chased after the dog's rolling ball. The dog came toward her to claim his ball. She freaked out and started screaming. Instead of talking to the little girl and man in instructive and calm ways to show dog and child all was ok the parents made themselves look crazy and the poor man was verbally abused. Dogs need to run and play just like people. I'd like to add it is a fine to throw food wrappers, bottles, cap tops, and unwanted food all over the field, and most anywhere in this lovely Bay Area we all share. l have picked up hands full, two and times each night. Why are parents allowing this? We have a beautiful place to live here please teach children to respect our earth. They'll be around here longer than the adults at this writing.
LamorindaMan April 19, 2013 at 04:17 am
Your unleashed dog doesn't belong on school grounds. Go to a park.
Trenton Gregory April 30, 2013 at 02:09 pm
Spring breakers has extra hot girls laughing as they indulge robbing and lawless acts while singingRead More pop music and now we have jym rats with the ego's to take lives. Feeling a bit curious is like slowing down to see a highway fatality.
LamorindaMan April 29, 2013 at 04:13 pm
I am familiar with the story upon which this movie is based. These were horribly violent men whoRead More tortured and murdered many innocent people. They were placed on death row - a place they rightly belong. It's unbelievable that people would make a movie about this and in any way attempt to glorify these people. Disgusting.