Race Report Dead City Alleycat 2024 - Day of the Dead Edition (attempt number 2 to get some words down)


it is Thursday morning...

sipping my coffee and thinking that it has been nearly a week since the Dead City Alleycat
if I want to write a race report
I best get to it

not only do I need to wrap up the report
I need to put away the Alleycat and all of its parts

All of the Check Point Puzzle Pieces and Post Race Prizes
Lawn Darts need to go into the Shed or the curb
Sell the Kid Department Store Low Rider Bikes
SWAG and Prizes that were not used in the event are still in the living room
make room to put that stuff back in the basement
save for the next Gwadzilla Alleycat

got to put the day behind me and move forward
the day was amazing
need to focus on moving forward

not sure what direction to go with this "Race Report"
as I did not race
I did not race the 2024 Dead City Alleycat... I hosted the 2024 Dead City Alleycat 

yesterday downtown on the bike doing deliveries about town
I saw people who had raced and I passed places that were checkpoints




this week we had elections

so many thoughts in so many directions 

no time to go into all of that
thought the election was gonna be closer
thought Harris had a chance
thought we were looking at a 51\49 split either way
I was looking forward to a Harris - Walz Presidency
not looking forward to another 4 years of Trump 

let me start slapping the keys on the keyboard
maybe something worth reading will appear on the computer screen
maybe not... as Mario used to say, "here we go..."

just to make things clear
The Dead City Allecyat 2024 was the Day of the Dead Edition
not Halloween themed
Dia de los Muertos themed

COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!

Mexico and\or Dia de los Muertos
I encouraged costumes
did not want Halloween costumes
just like if I were hosting a toga party
dress appropriately... wear a toga do not show up dressed like Batman
that would just be weird

that said... 
I spoke to Bruce in the days leading up to the event and signed off on his Spider costume 
it was too complicated to try and get into a Mexican heritage discussion
I was just excited that Bruce was gonna race 
the emo spider costume was bonus 


RACE REPORT: Dead City Alleycat 2024 Day of the Dead Edition
let me just run through a stream of consciousness typing session and see what I get

it was Saturday morning... 
I felt that I had done all that I needed to do to host the Dead City Alleycat
months of planning had gone into getting ready
a complex Day of the Dead themed manifest had been created
games within the game had been designed
sponsors had sent prizes
manifests and spoke cards were printed
I had enlisted an variety of checkpoint volunteers

the day prior I made a few drops for the race
leaving department store low rider kid bikes at Montrose Park
passing off Water Bottles and Boxes for Holy Rood Cemetery Checkpoint

the more I did in advance... the less I had to do that day

the end point for this race would be Don Juan's
I figured I could load the prizes in my car (actually my son's car) and park in Mount Pleasant and ride my bicycle to the start 
having my car at the finish... where I could then drive home with any remaining items

my friend Beth accepted the invite to volunteer and run a checkpoint
then also
Beth agreed to help out by painting a few faces with Sugar Skull designs
Beth is a bicycle mechanic not a makeup artist
yet she was willing to take on the task

so... Beth showed up at my house in the AM
painted her face... painted my face...
then I drove Beth and her bike to the start at Thomas Circle so she could paint a few volunteers faces as I drove up to Don Juan's in Mount Pleasant to drop off my car

Beth was dropped off a Thomas Circle with bags of items for check point pick ups for various check points at 2PM
even the manifest and spoke cards were dropped off at Thomas Circle
in Mount Pleasant I parked on Lamont Street
the 1700 Block
I lived at 1717 Lamont with my then girlfriend who later became my ex wife
in the Day of the Dead Style
I thought lovingly of my dead ex wife
memories of courtship, newly weds, and young parents to our first child
so many memories from Mount Pleasant

after parking in Mount Pleasant I pulled my bike off the car and rode towards the start at Thomas Circle

having some extra time before the racers showed up I did a quick loop
checking on a few checkpoints
offering up some hints on my Instagram 


my loop was short but entertained my brain
distracting me from the anxiety of the race and all of its elements

I feared that the skull on the mural in Mount Pleasant would be tough to find in the dark
hell... that skull is hard to find in the light
the "Say No to Drugs" hint would help for sure
so I offered up a hint

I figured I could snap a shot of the Mas Paz mural in Mount Pleasant as another hint... trying to have that Mas Paz mural as an obvious option as I was not sure how early Mas Paz would be projecting the images from MLK onto DWRC (The Portrait Gallery)

then as I migrated down towards Thomas Circle I ran some of the manifest in reverse

at the Cultural Institute of Mexico on 16th Street there was a line of people outside
but... but... but... 

Where were the Catrina Figures?


Victor of the Cultural Institute of Mexico had assured me that he would put them outside for our event
I had said I would email him to remind him
he said not to worry
I did email him to remind him anyway
he had not put them out

there were no Catrina Figures on display at the Mexican Cultural Institute

I knocked on the door asking for Victor
a security guard went to fetch him
time passed
I asked a woman exiting the building to pass a message on to Victor
not sure if he got a message

I had to move forward... crossed my fingers that Victor would be able to put out the figures before my race start 

back on the bike and then a glance at a few more locations


the Barbie Display on Q Street had been modified
the Day of the Dead theme had morphed into an Election Themed display
expected
it is a rotating canvas
Halloween Had Passed and The Election was fast approaching

then on Q Street further down
the Bright Pink 20 Foot Skeleton had been removed from the yard
man... some people are more tidy than others
cleaned up right after Halloween
nothing saved for The Day of the Dead just days later

oooppps... this would be mentioned at the start 

there was not much more meandering as the clock was ticking and it was approaching time for me to be at Thomas Circle 

so... I took my attention towards getting to the start location of the race

upon my arrival I was stoked to see such a large gathering
volunteers were there in force
lots of volunteers
ALL of the volunteers who had committed to running a checkpoint in advance were onsite 

HELL YES!
but 
where were the racers?

I am accustom to this approach
it is why I do not sit in the park hours before the start
as it would give me anxiety wondering who was going to race
as I started to prep volunteers with instructions racers started to roll in

I greeted people as I passed
it warmed my heart to see the racers roll in
it gave me a sense of calm
or at least it lowered my anxiety a little
there were racers... we would have a race...
in fact we had a strong top ten

as it got closer to the race start
I felt pretty good about who had shown up to race 
as well as how many people showed up to race
there were over 20 racers and then a handful of "just for fun participants"

as things got closer to the start
the Just for Fun Participants migrated into the race category


trying to be on time
but not really paying much attention to the clock I went through the process of prepping the volunteers
then got ready for a pre-race meeting
then Bruce passed on a message
Gabe and Clara were on their way
I agreed to pause the start until their arrival
Andy Zalan accused me of "changing" as I have a history of being strict on certain things 

"YOU CHANGED!"
maybe I have... but just a little...

just as I was getting impatient and ready to start without Clara and Gabe
Gabe and Clara rolled into Thomas Circle

in my extraverted sort of way
I started to talk
trying to cover all the details
trying to talk while also responding to the comments from racers

as I tried to brief the racers on details of the day
there were questions

"where are the manifests?"
"do we get the manifests here?"
"where are the manifests?"

after hearing that the manifests were at Congressional Cemetery
there was a momentum to move
racers were uneasy... there was rumbling...
I was not done talking

I shouted out to Sebastian to get ready... Sebastian was planning on chasing the group to Congressional Cemetery and getting some video footage... he was not ready... he was cleaning dog shit off his shoes... 
 
in an effort to prevent a false start as people looked like they were already grabbing bikes and trying to exit the park
I released the racers without finishing everything I needed to say

I forgot to mention two crucial things!!!

DO NOT RIDE YOUR BICYCLE IN CONGRESSIONAL CEMETERY
and
MANIFESTS WILL BE IN THE CHAPEL

opps... 
everyone had the same manifest question
arriving at Congressional Cemetery
assuming handoff would be at the gate
then entering the Cemetery and stumbling around
or 
as I can only image as I was not there

that absence of information was shared with all racers
I got a text from Brian Clark about the Cemetery Manifest Pick Up
I told him at the Chapel
my guess... everyone did what everyone else was doing

I am sure it was chaos... but it all worked out
it weighed heavy on me that I glitched so early in the race 

I MESSED UP THE START!
CLASSIC!
MORE SHIT TO STRESS ABOUT!

I contacted Sage and Michael G
Sage and Michael G were checkpoint volunteers
it was their task to deliver the manifests to a woman at the chapel at Congressional Cemetery
then
they would be handing out beer coozies at Rush Rink 

I asked that one of them go to Congressional Cemetery to help and point people to the chapel
they had also handed off the cozies to the person at Congressional Cemetery along with the manifests
no worries
Sage had been signing the manifests
so... they were consistent
just need proof that they were there

the manifest was "in order"

racers could do the manifest in any order
I informed the racers they could do it in any order
but to those that figured it out... they could race it in the order on the page
that was the order that I felt was most fast and fluid...  

Racers were instructed to READ THE MANIFEST

the last Checkpoint acted to confuse the racers
it was a Selfie in the Chapel at Congressional Cemetery
and
RUSH RINK had a 5:15 End Time
guiding racers to do things in a logical way
to try and get them back to the top of the list



in addition to the list of 21 Checkpoints pretty much in order
there were an additional 4 checkpoints where the racers could pick a location

Mas Paz Art, Chipotle, District Taco, and Popeyes

each of these checkpoints had multiple options
it was up to the racers to select an option that worked with the way that they routed the rest of the manifest

in the pre-race meeting I tried to explain to create the route with the other checkpoints
and figure these out along the way
so many of the "Pick One" options are just a block away from another checkpoint

I thought I had created a fun theme
the pick up at Chipotle and District Taco were selected because it was a Mexican option that fit into the Pick One design
then I tied in Mas Paz because his art is cool and the Portrait Gallery display
then the locations option for liquor stores with "and Spirts"
was as fun as Popeyes having "Ghost" Pepper Chicken Sandwich

All Souls Bar and Angel's Liquor were nice touches as well
I thought that it gave a wide variety of stops
sure... there are endless Mexican restaurants to choose from
but I selected a few that had murals that worked with the theme
and then
there were other Dia de Los Muertos Festivals on this day
but I figured that I had done well with the two I selected
and sending racers to Union Market would have altered and extended the loop in a way that I did not wish to go


my Gwadzilla Dead City Alleycat standards this would be a short race
rather than 27-30 miles
this would be a 20-24 mile race
I had pre-ridden the course and felt it could be done in less than 2.5 hours 
factoring checkpoints etc.

Brian Clark would finish in almost 2 Hours to the Minute!

the Thomas Circle Start offered up a race within the race
the first person to get the manifest would get a prize 
I felt that the 4 mile Race to the Manifest at Congressional Cemetery would be a fun way to start the event
figured Veek would have fun filming it with his Insta 360
but alas no...  Veek had other plans on this day

so I pulled Sebastian from his Holy Rood assignment and asked him to do some filming

Thomas Circle to Congressional Cemetery
Congressional Cemetery to Rush Rink
then if the racers chose to do the manifest in order
The National Portrait Gallery would be the next stop on the list
and by my design
it would be the best place to go next

after the start of the race I spent some time in Thomas Circle on the phone
texting volunteers
and
texting racers

after learning about the Congressional Cemetery Chapel debacle
tried to sort out the Chapel Manifest Pick Up
making sure checkpoint volunteers were in place and ready for racers

then after I felt things were moving along
I decided to check out some of the race
Ben Barnes and PJ were the only people other than me who remained at Thomas Circle 
I asked Ben if he wanted to ride around with me rather than sending him to a checkpoint as I felt like the checkpoints were covered 

along with Deaf Ben I rode to DWRC\The Portrait Gallery

sure enough... racers were already there
Brian Clark was headed down the stairs as Sleazy G as headed inside
Andy Zalan and David P. reviewed the manifest

Andy realized they had missed Rush Rink
RUSH RINK HAD A 5:15 CUT OFF

oh no... to have a complete manifest
to be competitive
Andy would have to go back to Rush Rink
that is some serious back tracking... that is some extra miles... 
Dave P and Sleazy G had also missed this checkpoint
they left off together

Sleazy G's chain would break... taking him out of contention... but he stayed in the game... visiting checkpoints and taking photos... not trying to be competitive... but just to experience the rest of the race 

when at the Portrait Gallery it was early... 
it was not dark yet
Art by Mas Paz was one of the Pick A Spot options
Mas Paz would be projecting his art on the Portrait Gallery from the MLK Library
but not yet... it was not dark enough for this
racers would have to go to another location

there is a Mas Paz Mural in Mount Pleasant
on the side wall of Mount Pleasant Cleaners
across the street from the finish at Don Juan's
easy option 


Just as Racers needed to take a selfie with someone with a Sugar Skull\Catrina Face at the Portrait Gallery Day of the Dead event
the next checkpoint was on the Washington Monument Grounds
there was another Day of the Dead gathering
another selfie with a Sugar Skull\Catrina Face

the manifest ended with some explanations and definitions of these things
READ THE MANIFEST 
some people took photos of the wrong things
sure... that proved that they were there
but they did not complete the task... no points

from the National Mall back to downtown
there would be two Mexican Embassy Stops
people had to take a photo of the Seal of Mexico

an Eagle on a cactus with a snake in its beak
there is a white shield at each of these locations

not so easy to find
the seal also exists on the Mexican flag
selfie with the Mexican Flag would be an argued option at the finish
I caved to this argument
as it is in fact an eagle on a cactus with a snake in its beak 

in an effort for the manifest to not be too wordy
I truncated instructions
what had previously had more specific instructions became a shorter line
which unfortunately left room for interpretation 

that said...
not everything was negotiable
a skeleton is a skeleton
a Catrina is a Catrina 
similar but different 

at this point there had been several options for racers to knock out some of the "PICK A SPOT" checkpoints
at 2000 Penn Across the Street is a Chipotle 
and then
at 19th and M Street Headed to 23rd is a District Taco
I think I might have hit the District Taco on Pennsylvania Ave in SE
ANY District Taco or Any Chipotle would work

racers had to pick up a napkin from Chipotle
then also pick up a coffee sleeve from District Taco

from downtown into Georgetown
there was a potential "And Spirits" checkpoint on Prospect Street
there were several "and Spirits" options
I would have gone to the "and Spirits" on Mount Pleasant Street

then there was also a trick
The Exorcist Stairs

it was once said to me by Andy Zalan... "I will never do an Alleycat that has the Exorcist Stairs as a checkpoint again!"

I have used the Exorcists Stairs in every Dead City that I have hosted
it is iconic... it seems appropriate
but on this day
the manifest read something to the effect

THE EXORCIST STAIRS ARE NOT A CHECK POINT
YOU DO NOT NEED TO TAKE A SELFIE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE EXORCIST STAIRS

some racers took selfies at the bottom of the Exorcists Stairs
when they did not have to
this put them at the base of the stairs
when the next checkpoint would be at the top of the stairs

ah... Alleycat Manifests!

this was a fun one... 
Maria and Alberto De La Cruz Gallery on Prospect Street

TAKE A SELFIE WITH THE TRANSFORMER ON THE ROOF

now... that is an interesting one
on Prospect Street on the street level are two life size Transformer Statues

Transformers like Bumble Bee in the Movie Transformers
then there is a third Transformer on the roof of this same building
A third Transformer?
I felt this was fun
most people got it
a number of people did not get it
that is the game 


now they know
like in most of my Alleycats
I will show people things in the city that they have never seen before
the 3rd Transformer is a lesser known Transformer
some things are just good with the theme
even if they are often known

the Barbie Koi Pond on Q Street is an interesting spot
as the theme is rotating
as said... it was Day of the Dead\Halloween Themed earlier in the week
but on race day
the Barbie display had become election themed

unfortunately... the Barbie display did not help 


as said... the manifest could be done in any order
the logic that I had was for racers to go up hill from the Transformers Selfie to Holy Rood Cemetery on Wisconsin Avenue

time laps with boxes at Holy Rood Cemetery 
a repeat from a Dead City in years past... but I felt it was a fun checkpoint option
and a super cool spot

fastest lap with boxes would win a prize 

Greg Webb teamed up with Jerry Baker to run this checkpoint
Sebastian would show up later to volunteer later after filming



Brian Clark tied with Alex O for Fastest Lap with boxes at Holy Rood
I gave the prize to Alex O as Brian was the overall winner and the winner of the first to get the manifest
seemed fair to share the wealth

I watched a few racers at Holy Rood then chased Brian Clark to the next checkpoint... 

from Holy Rood Cemetery it was on to Montrose Park
Low Rider Laps
I had two small children bikes dropped off there
Department Store quality Low Riders
5 Laps around a Small Fountain
5 laps could be done in a minute

it was a giggle
Beth and Raven ran this checkpoint 
it was well received
perhaps the most fun checkpoint of the day

again... there was a prize for the fastest racer at the Low Rider Checkpoint
Zach Chariot Brown edged out Andy Zalan for the Win at Montrose Park!

after watching a few laps at Montrose Park
I dashed off to Zion Cemetery for Lawn Darts

I thought that Lawn Darts with their dangerous history would make for an amusing checkpoint
while also introducing people to this historical cemetery

three darts tossed into a bicycle rim
has to stick into the ground to get points 

amazingly enough 
Fast and Friendly Dave P got all three Lawn Darts to land in the LED LIT Spokeless Bicycle Rim

GOOD JOB DAVEP!

at this cemetery one of the volunteers gave me a quick history lesson
I had know a few things about the two cemeteries in this hidden spot
but I had not know the history of this spot and its shed as a hiding spot for slaves during the era of the Underground Railroad

thanks One Wheel Daniel B for that information

it was a quick pass through checkpoint
I have a bit of a history of not being at the finish for the racers
(think... The House on Georgia Avenue)
me spending time on the course trying to experience some of the race
when I could be at the finish accepting finishing racers and starting the grading process
I did not want this to be a complaint on this day

then when I hosted the Confer Cat with Cate Cohen last August
I was at one of the last checkpoints
Brian Clark came through fast
I had to race Bigs to the finish at the Pug on H Street to prevent any awkwardness
luckily he had a checkpoint or two that day that allowed me to get their first

I chased Bigs from Holy Rood to Montrose Park
then I went to Zion Cemetery for Lawn Darts and Bigs went forward fast
apparently Bigs had swapped the order a bit

At Zion I witnessed the DaveP Lawn Dart Toss
three for three
later today I will review my photos
I think that Dave may be disqualified due to a foot fault on the backless branch marker

after the Lawn Darts I left off forBandit Taco 
Bandit Taco would not be the next stop on the list
but it would put me in front of Bigs
as he would have to go across to several spots before this stop

at Bandit Taco Steven C was handing out bottles of Pedro's Lube 
no racers had come through yet... which was logical
and somehow... the checkpoint volunteer that was supposed to be at Bandit Taco with Steven had gotten lost 

in the chit chat with Stephen C... Bigs rolled up...
I cut the conversation short with Stephen
got Ben Barne's Attention and we chased Bigs up 16th Street towards the Mexican Cultural Center

Still no Catrina Figures in the Lawn... 
Dang... Come on Victor!
just kidding... I know that they were busy with a Black Tie Dia de Los Muertos event they were hosting that evening

from this checkpoint I would head to the finish and Bigs would have the last few stops on his manifest to complete

which would give me time to figure out the finishing spot at Don Juan's



a Don Juan's I caught up with Kelvin of Don Juan's
Kelvin pointed me to the picnic tables on the patio
I set up camp at a table that was near an overhead light
the day was getting late and light was beginning to fade 
I would need that light to grade manifests

volunteers and event supporters started to appear

I ordered some food

by the time my food was ordered and I had a beer in hand
it was time to start grading manifests 

Brian Clark 
Bigs Finished Fast
Bigs Finished Strong
25 out of 25
and
the first manifest 

Greg and Dave P came in shortly after
but with an incomplete manifest
not asking to be scored

more people arrived
we were not only taking over this corner of the patio
lots of people were ordering food
lots of people were ordering drinks



scoring... scoring... scoring...

it was not that it was a complicated manifest
but... it was difficult
as there was some confusion and everyone had a debate about their interpretation of the manifest
I tried to be fair while not being excessively strict
while also being fun

but not bucking for everything

going to the location is not enough
there needs to be the completion of the task
the selfie could prove that the racer was at the correct location
but
there still needs to be a correct answer to the question 
or
there needs to be a photo of what was requested
the task must be completed correctly
there is more to it than riding around the city 

as Alleycat racers finished... they all got to mix and mingle and have a party
while I worked hard
it is thankless this task of Alleycat Host 

the Alleycat Host is a bit of a Party Martyr 

I enjoyed what I could enjoy
as I graded manifests I asked some questions about their experience
then also
I got to overhear some of the racers talking about their race day
it was fun

people had enjoyed the manifest
people had enjoyed the race

the day was well attended
the day was well received 

I had two manifests
the Just for Fun Manifest was not a different manifest
the Just for Fun Manifest was a case where racers did not have to go to Congressional Cemetery or Rush Rink
they would start their race at Thomas Circle and have 8 miles less to ride

as said... ALL of the Just for Fun Participants opted to RACE the FULL RACE
yet... there were still two manifests

with all the TEAMING UP and RIPPING OFF OF OTHER RACERS I try to trick people from doing such... or even penalize them for their efforts

I put in a few minor differences
on Q Street there were houses down the block from each other
1730 and 1744 Q Street
each with Skeletons in their front yard

then at All Souls Bar one manifest had instructions to take a photo of window and the other asked for the bike rack

then lastly
the Mexican Restaurants on 14th Street
one had a Sugar Skull and another had a Catrina Mural
next door to each other... murals inside

BUT! There were cases of Interpretation!
some racers picked up an actual SUGAR SKULL from Congressional Cemetery 
so... they took a selfie in the bar with the Sugar Skull
I accepted this as it was not what I intended
it was what I asked for....
a Selfie with a Sugar Skull!


the grading of a three page manifest with 24 or so racers can take some time
the sun had set and the temperature had dropped 
and 
the natives were getting restless

I scored the last and final manifest and then gathered my prizes
move my car from Lamont Street to Lamont Park
set up prizes on the ground and set up the piñata 

first I awarded the winners of the Checkpoint Challenges
as said...
Bigs tied at Holy Rood
Alex O got a sweet Bicycle Film Festival Cap and some other swag 
Zach Chariot Brown got something similar for the Low Rider Race
and
Dave P got the Zion Cemetery Knog Lights Prize for his Three Lawn Darts in the Bicycle Rim

then for the race results I split up the men and the woman
there were maybe 5-7 people in the WTF Category.... and must over 20 racers in the Open Category...  top three women scored well
moving them to their own category bumped up some of the men in the race

the prize table allowed for some choices
1-2-3
Bigs - Gabe- AZ
1-2-3
Clara - Heather - Keisha 

the Mike King Tattoo Prize was up for debate
Brian Clark and Clara discussed who would get the tattoo
Bigs has many tattoos
Clara has none
Clara thinks she may want a tattoo... but backed down
Bigs took the tattoo prize!

which allowed the other racers some choices
Gabe and Clara each selected Ortlieb Messenger Bags as their prizes
then the following racers got to pick from various bags with a mixture of cool prizes from Knog lights, Speedy's Hot Sauce, SRAM, and other sponsors from this event and other sponsors from previous Gwadzilla Alleycats 




all racers who completed the race got a bunch of SWAG
there were bike lights from WABA at one checkpoint
there was bike lube from Pedro's at another spot
Bike Arlington handlebar mirrors were also handed out
so... there was lots of SWAG already in racer's hands

in addition to the prizes that top finishers got to pick from
each racer also got a tote bag filled with SWAG from the previously listed sponsors
some more lucky than others

in an effort to get more prizes to more people
I had a piñata stuffed with Mexican candy and Bicycle SWAG

after the racers were awarded prizes we did the piñata 
the unbreakable piñata 

people got to take a swing at a purple and pink llama piñata 
when it finally broke
there were cycling socks, hot sauce, Shimano bottle openers, Mexican candy and I can not recall what else

I felt the piñata was a nice touch 




the day was well attended
the day was well recieved

as Dario says
"Alleycats have their glitches"
I hate having Alleycat Glitches 

I forgot to mention the Chapel at Congressional Cemetery
but that worked out
and
I also forgot to share the bottle of Agave from Mount Pleasant Whiskey Company
oh well... I got to crack it open and sip some Agave as I watched the election results 


there are many more photos
I need to go through some photos
I made another Gwadzilla Post with some links to some of the racers Instagram 
then also shared some of their phtotos 

another Gwadzilla Blog Post on the Dead City Alleycat
more photos




the event took lots of attention and took lots of planning
I enjoy the process and I feel I accomplished my goals

amusingly enough
just as I create the multiple manifests to eliminate cheating
the Selfies are created to eliminate cheating
it seems like it would be the "proof" that people went to those locations

but now...
the pirate behavior of messengers has become more high tech
just as questions can be answered without going to a location as a way to cheat the system
now it seems that the techie kids are CREATING FAKE SELFIES
now... I am not certain
but there was at least one suspect image 

not sure what to say about the FAKE SELFIES
I guess it falls into the messenger history of using pirate tactics to ride fewer miles

Paul Lagoy has Photos and Videos on Facebook











Paul's Photos from Dead City Alleycat


Andy Zalan on Instagram
 

and one last photo by Ben Barnes