We like our heroes to be straight out of the comic books: flawless, noble, and generally great. But sometimes really good things are accomplished by people who are kind of jerks. Alameda was lucky enough to have one such jerk, at just the right time.

We like our heroes to be straight out of the comic books: flawless, noble, and generally great. But sometimes really good things are accomplished by people who are kind of jerks. Alameda was lucky enough to have one such jerk, at just the right time. Meet Arthur Shirmer Hieronymus, aka Motorcycle Mike, aka your favorite High Priest of the Royal Arch Masons, aka Alameda’s City Physician during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.