March 5th, 2020
Bicycles, etc.
I was sitting despondently at the breakfast table,
wondering what I could concoct that would return me to my usual
everyday energetic and cheerful self,
despite my stiff neck!!!
In order to distract myself from said stiff neck, and the blues that accompany it,
my thoughts turned to early days, when I was full of pep and bounce!!!!
As I contemplated those days a boy rode by on a bike, on his way to school,
and I remembered, nostalgically, the bicycle that was part of my early teens,
and my transportation to school, a mile or so away,
there being no school buses in those days....the Thirties, Depression Years.
On the corner of Alberta Avenue and 92nd street there lived an older couple
dear to our family, - "Grandad" and "Granny" Green.
Grandad had a bicycle shop, and Granny had a heart of gold!
It was not just shiny new bikes that Grandad sold, -
he was a whiz at putting together old parts and pieces, and with a magic wand.
a few screws and a fresh coat of paint
he produced bikes that all could afford in those
economically tight years.
Mine cost $5.00, and was named "Bonaparte"
in honour of the way he came into being!
I think that Granny's Golden Heart probably influenced the price!
I think that Granny's Golden Heart probably influenced the price!
Besides school Bonaparte took me on many a cycle ride,
one in particular with my dear friend and kindred spirit, N.K.
- on this adventure out Oliver way from Edmonton.
We took our knitting -
I believe I was making a sweater for my father,
which he wore as a vest as I never did finish the sleeves.
Bonaparte was passed on to my sister (five years younger)
who also used it for school. I wish I had a picture..
he was such a sturdy steed!!!
Where his "Bones" eventually laid I do not know.
I got involved with an Air Force officer, - married him and left home
for adventures in another province of Canada.
Our transportation there was a 1933 yellow wire-wheeled Chev Coupe!
I
We were so young!
6 comments:
That was a lovely post. I still have my childhood bike (from 1960) but I haven't gotten out on it in a while as the brakes are poor. Can't get rid of it tho! It is amazing how quickly the years have flown by. So many childhood memories that don't seem so long ago(but of course they are!) Where did the time go? Thanks so much for this trip down memory lane.
'We were so young.' I often think that as I recall the early years of marriage and child raising. So eager to get on with adult life and little idea of what that could mean.
Re stiff necks: the inevitable result of spending too long at either my sewing machine or the computer--having to assess whether accomplishment is worth the discomfort!
I think that my stiff neck comes from winding warps and throwing the shuttle back and forth on the loom, - but I think it is definitely worth the discomfort!!!!! As to riding bikes - I have to content myself with a scooter these days!!!!!
I love the car, especially the wire wheels! On the passing of time, Louis Lamour wrote, "Where go the years? Down what tunnel of time are poured the precious days." I have a jell- type pad that can be heated in the microwave. I put it on whatever hurts. On cold nights I tuck it under the covers to keep my feet warm.
About the car, - shortly after this, on VJ Day when the war was finally over, Charles and another AirForce friend attached a locomotive whistle to the exhaust and went through town to celebrate the happy day. I am with Louis Lamour and the tunnel of time...but grateful for memories!
My father rescued a couple of old bikes for my brother and I when we were children and I've had bikes of various sorts ever since. It doesn't get used much in winter these days but I intend to resurrect it once more as soon as we get some warmer weather.
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