I guess by now most of you have figured out life as a kid is not like when we grew up. Remember the days of going outside and playing ball and running around for hours upon hours, only coming home to eat some dinner and then get outside again. Unfortunately the world has changed. And now kids spend a lot of time on video games, and only playing ball in structured environments, under the watchful eye of parents everywhere. Drive through most neighborhoods, and seeing a bunch of kids playing is rare. Sad but true.
So anyway, how does this correlate to the title of today's submission? Maybe it does and maybe it doesn't. See, about three years ago, we got my son a bike. Pretty nice one in fact. And I taught him to ride on two wheels. Here's a great way to do so: bring your kid, the bike and yourself to a neighborhood ball field. Kids have a tendency to see the infield as safe if they fall, and the curves of the diamond help them with turning.
So he learned, but had no real affinity for bike-riding. And since
Big Daddy X (aka SoulSlam) was an avid cyclist (I have a
Trek 2300 Road Bike and a sweet Klein Pulse from before they were bought by Trek, as well as some hoopdies) , it was a little disappointing. But everyone has there own interests, and I am not
the Pushy Kind when it comes to my sons.
So a couple of nights ago I come home late and my garage is open. I go inside and I see someone has pulled out their bike. A bike that has probably not been touched (except by me) in two years. So I close the garage and don't say a word.
Next day is Saturday (best day of the week!) and my son comes out while I'm doing the man-thing in the garage; sorting my recyclables, picked up my
Ariens 10hp Snowthrower from the service guy (special thanks to my bro-in-law for the assist), and getting the Christmas decorations out and in place. And he asks me about the bike. So we get it out, fill the tires, adjust the seat, check the chain, tighten some things that need tightening, and he starts out. Tentatively at first, then faster and faster around my circular driveway that goes around the abode we call Rose Manor. Rode for a hour, then we went to hoops practice for a deuce and then back on the bike for another hour. Sunday rolls around and the kid is riding in the freezing cold after Mass - like a kid who just discovered, well, how great riding a bike is, laughing, smiling and having the time of his life. SoulSlam is beaming!
So the moral of my story: Bikes are good. Ride a bike.See y'all later.
