Life can be pretty tough at times. Everyone here knows it to be true. Sometimes it's a struggle to
maintain positive vibes in the midst of all the negative [censored] that happens in the world.
It's been a tough few weeks. I've had to go back to the night shift to help cover the loss of a few
employee's (good or bad, they're just history!) And this has caused me not to be at home when my
children need me the most. Evenings, nights. I had been home at these times, helping them with
homework, etc. But I've had to sacrifice (at least temporarily) this time in order to make the money
it takes to live. My children, while they won't say it to me, have made their opinions known about
my being out of the house to others in my family. They don't like it, but they understand why...
This last week has been the toughest one yet. The anniversary of 9-11-01 has had me more than a
little down. I watched the remeberances on the tube. I almost cried (again) when the children of the
victims spoke @ ground zero. Little girls who could care less about politics, etc, speaking about
their fathers and mothers whom they lost in the WTC attacks. Well let's just say it hurt me deeply
to see this. And I have been clinging to my children a little harder than usual (and I didn't think
that possible)
The world lost one of it's greatest voices this week. Johnny Cash went to a better place, and it has
made me sad. You see, as a southerner,
Mr. Cash' music has been a constant thread in the fabric of my life. I can remember hearing his
songs as a young, young boy growing up in Georgia. My mother would play his music (and that of
many of his contemporaries) all the time. It just fits, ya' know. I lived in Nashville for a
short time as a boy, with my mother and step father, who was born there. His family had a house
boat on Lake Nic-a-jack. I learned how to swim in the shadow of Mr. Cash' house on that lake oh
so long ago. I've met him on a few occasion. Once he, and Jimmy Dean were on the porch of the
ol' bait shop at the marina, just playing guitars, telling stories. My mother told me to stop
bothering them, but Mr. Cash told her "it's alright, he ain't bothering us" "let him stay" so
she did. I sat on that ol' bench in front of that marina for what seemed like hours, listining
to the music...some of my fondest memories as a child!
My sons birthday is coming up. And all he wanted was a new bike. (either that or a GAME BOY
Advanced) He has outgrown the POS Huffy 16" bmx bike I salvaged from the junkyard for his 4th
birthday. He's rode it for damn near three years. He didn't care that it is known as a POS. He just
rode the hell out of it. it isn't broke, the tires are a little bald, but it still works well. I'm
going to fix it up and give it to Goodwill, or the Salvation army, so they can give it to some
unfortunate child. Huffy may not be the brand of choice for some of the elitist around here, but he
didn't seem to care. And the only thing I cared about was that my son has the "bicycle bug" and it
has bit him HARD. That Huffy did the job, and I'm glad.
My LBS gave me a deal on a slightly used Trek Sub Head 24" BMX bike. $75.00. The bike looks brand
new, well o.k. almost brand new. I bought a new seat for it, cleaned it up a little. Looks good as
new. He had no idea.
The look on my sons face when I presented him with his new ride made all of the above seem a distant
memory. his face glowed, his eyes sparkeled, his teeth showed. He rode it until 21:30 last night.
Riding in the moonlight with my son, all of the past few weeks problems just evaporated. He was up
well before I was this morning, as he always is, helmet on, ready to ride. My garage looks like the
floor of my LBS, bikes EVERYWHERE!
It amazes me how a simple machine can bring so much joy to a child! But what is more amazing to me
is that no matter what is happening in my adult world, a childs smile can make things seem so much
easier to deal with!
Enjoy YOUR ride!
Dave (with a smile at least half as wide as my sons today!)