As the minutes ticked closer to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, hundreds of motorcycles, pick-up trucks, Fiats and one MetroRapid bus lined up on San Jacinto Boulevard. In one block, a police Hummer sat idle only feet away from a life-sized Fleshlight dancing atop a parade float. Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” blared from a pair of speakers as a group of young women sprayed hair products into each other’s pink and purple wigs.
