When I was small I remember asking Mom if I could have a bicycle. She said, When I get rich Ill get you a dozen of them. It wasnt said in a bad way. I know she must have been frustrated. She took on a job doing laundry for Mr. George, a local banker, after Dad left. It didnt pay much. We were never hungry, though. Mom could whip up a mean tamale pie casserole in a big kettle. She mashed potatoes and if there were any leftovers after Don got through, she would make patties and fry them up the next day. Grandma made sure we had milk, eggs, and produce from her garden and orchard. But I still wanted a bicycle. Walking home from school one day I found a discarded 24 girls bicycle laying in the middle of a field. I picked it up, brushed the weeds from it, and walked it to the house. It had no tires, but otherwise it was functional. I would ride it around the block on the rims, making lots of noise, but happy enough with my find. Sometimes my brother Don would let me ride his bike, but he banned me from it because when I wanted to get off I would bail off and let the bike land where it may. One day we were playing at our house on Santa Fe Drive. Mr Swenson, a contractor from our church, pulled up in front of the place in his pickup. The bed was loaded with bikes. Used bikes---but bikes. He had been to the police auction and bought a few bikes to hand out to kids who couldnt afford them. I got one with no handlebars, a 24 wheel in the front, and a 26 wheel in the back. What little paint remained on it was brown, I think. Well, the tires held air, the rest of it was fairly intact, but it needed handlebars. I improvised. I got a leg from a discarded dinette set. It was tapered. It was straight. Hmmmm. I leveraged it between a couple of heavy objects and bent it. I then inserted the small end into the hole made to accomodate handlebars and tightened the locking bolt. I expect I was using the old aluminum Globemaster visegrips that were always laying around out back. Anyway, my fix worked. It wasnt the prettiest bike in town, but it was functional. The handlebar only stuck out on one side, but that was okay. I learned quickly enough how to get on and off with just one hand. Wish I still had the damn thing.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 03:35:07 +0000
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