by
It stings when fact isn't as funny as fantasy.
Soon after we asked social media followers to share whimsical or wacky captions for this Campus Martius scene, snapped around 7:30 a.m. Friday by an office worker who shares this photo and asks to be identified only as Mike, witticisms began flowing. So did reality checks.
So yes, we now know what looks like scooter stunt-riding is actually a user -- or, more likely, a company rep -- returning two Birds to a nest recarging dock. Thanks to Jack Roskopp, Jason Prone, Amelia Deschamps, Daniel Tanner, Cheryl Anderson and Meg Sabula for sending truth when we sought mirth. No hard feelings, honest.
A normal user on Woodward Avenue between Campus Martius and Spirit Plaza.
(Instagram by "Ishanlad")
We're equally grateful that others didn't know or chose to play anyhow. These are among replies to Twitter and Facebook invitations to tell "what you think is going on here," followed by highlights from the photographer's original post on Reddit:
- These Rollerblades are a lot bigger than I was expecting. -- David Bauer
- Birds of a feather flock together. -- Rebekka Ward, Detroit
- Urban skiing. -- Noel D. French, Detroit
- Hipster level 100. -- Ryan Schaff
- When you love both so much you just can't decide. -- Grant Bubsey
- His favorite song growing up [must have been] Brooks & Dunn's "Boot Scootin' Boogie." -- Adam Ellstrom, Detroit
- Delivering it to his bruh, so they can shred. -- Christopher Hardy
- Talk about a pulled groin -- keep watching! -- Peggy Fura
- Brought them to that round storage container. -- Doug Riddle
- "About to split my pants -- next time he's getting his own dang scooter." -- Kelly
- The real crime here is the socks with sandals. -- "Pixelbat" (Reddit)
- Dudes like this have a 200% chance of stealing your girl. -- (Redditor with vile screen name)
- Do they steal two at a time? -- Dante (Reddit)
- Saw two guys on one scooter yesterday. -- "ChryslerDodgeJeep" (Reddit)
- Probably because this guy took the extra one. -- Daniel (Reddit)
- I was in Venice Beach last week, and at the end of the night I would see one person riding one and carrying five to go home and charge them for the night. No shame. -- RedHotBellPepper (Reddit)
Another local publication -- a certain alt.weekly based in Ferndale -- also is amused by the tandem rider and lifts Mike's shot from a Reddit post by him that earns 300 "upvotes" and over 50 comments since Friday. (We contacted the poster for permission after seeing it.)
"What scooter-hogging wizardry is this?" asks the headline above a post wondering if he's "like a goddamn Greek god."
