her bike, her friend ...

facts :
She needed a way to band camp.  The current transportation was her blue kid’s bike with a white banana seat.  Being a teenager and needing to get across town, she needed a ten speed.  She saved up her money and paid attention to what specs she wanted her new bike to have.  When the day finally arrived and Sears was no longer going to carry her bike, they upgraded her to the next bike at same cost.  Now with the new bike, she could get to band camp and her job.
 
feelings :
She inherited a blue kid’s bike with a white banana seat from her cousins.  Daddy was very patient with teaching her how to ride.  She did master the riding and balancing bit down way before being able to start and stop.  Her landing mode was the bush in her front yard.  If she fell off half way around the block, she would walk it home and ask Daddy to help her start again. 
 
Riding her bike was freedom and a friend.  Many a summer afternoon, you would see a golden brown hair girl riding around and around the neighborhood.  Once she tried to play ball with other kids in the neighborhood, but her younger bro of two years said no.  So a bond between girl and bike strengthen. Bikes do not say no to a ride!
 
Hitting junior high came band camp in the summers.  She would make the trip by bike clear across town.  She had a white basket in front to carry her instrument.  At times it was a hard ride because her bike lacked the gears that a 10 speed had.  When she went to high school, she really felt the shame. Her option was to save and plan.
 
Her younger brother of two years, got a 10 speed.  She paid close attention to the pros and cons of his bike and made ‘a must have list’.  She had to have bow-like handle bars, no ram horns for her. She had to have fenders, no skunk stripe up her back on rainy days.  She had to tire rubber on the peddles, no spikes to injure foot or leg if she missed peddled.  She had to have a big fanny seat, no little one for her. She reallllllly wanted  a red bike.  After saving and ear marking the Sears catalog, off they went to get the 10 speed.  As plans go, she came home happy as a proud owner of an upgraded forest green girl’s 10 speed bike with all her other must-haves. A grown up bike made it easier to get to band camp and her McDonald's job. Her friend stepped up her responsibility.

Now days being grown up with an apartment with no garage or outside storage, her long time friend and responsiblity filler is stored in her parent’s garage until she can be reunited. With high gas prices eating away at her stash, she longs to figure out how to get her bike back in her life. The town has really doubled in size and traffic is scary those that do venture out on bikes. She isn’t sure how she is going to manage it. So she keeps brainstorming…

God's collection of tear bottles