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Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, I don’t like eggnog, and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living. In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I share a Christmas story about a Christmas gift, dirt, an evergreen tree, and a pothole.
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What I Learned Yesterday:
I know yesterday’s episode was titled, “We’re not in Kansas Anymore,” but today, that’s exactly where we’re at.
The year is most likely 1982. I was 5 and my brother would have just turned 8. We had made the annual trip to Kansas and were having a great time as always. Christmas Eve had come, and we had torn into our presents like Apple geeks on iPhone release day. Well, like iPhone geeks would one day rip into their phones on iPhone release day.
Well, anyway, the wrapping paper was all tossed out, the fire had faded away, and my brother and I were now abed in our cots. It was hard to go to sleep because we were still excited. Not only were we excited about the toys we would get to play with the next day, we were excited for what would happen when we woke up on Christmas morning.
Sometime during the night after we had gone to sleep, Santa would sneak into the very room we were sleeping in, and he would leave special presents under the tree and fill the stockings with goodies.
That Christmas morning in 1982 my brother and I awoke to the sight of two Huffy Laredo bicycles by the tree. They were mesmerizing. The Huffy Laredo bicycle had a beautiful padded banana seat, raised handlebars, a chain guard, and cool looking fenders over the wheels.
I have no idea what else I got for Christmas that year. Quite honestly, nothing else mattered. I had just been given something every kid dreams of: the ability to chart my own course and find the kind of freedom that can only be found by two wheels and a banana seat.
It didn’t take long for my parents to let the air out of my tires. We were not allowed to ride the bikes until we got back to our home on NW 30th Street in Oklahoma City. Can you believe it? That’s like putting a treat down in front of your dog and making him wait 2 days to eat it. It was unbearable!
Several times I found myself sitting there on that banana seat, kickstand engaged, hands gripped firmly on the rubber grips, and dreaming of what it would be like to feel the wind in my face. As I sat there on the bike I decided that I would start learning how to ride it.
There in the shadow of the evergreen I moved the pedals forward ever so slightly and felt the bike move. I looked toward the ground and did it again. A ha! The bike had moved forward at least an inch! I was riding the bike! I was going to be a bike riding pro by the time we arrived home. This would be great!
Finally the wait was over and we began our journey back home. As soon as we were allowed, my brother and I grabbed our new bikes and headed out to the front yard. I raised my leg over the seat, gripped the handlebars firmly, and placed one foot on a pedal. I psyched myself up and remembered the valuable experience I’d gained back in Kansas, and took off!
And I crashed. No problem. I picked up the bike, readied myself once more, and took off again. And I crashed again. Time after time I tried. And time after time I failed.
Finally with the help of others who really did know how to ride a bike, I got it figured out.
Oh, man it was awesome! I learned how to pop a wheelie, jump a ramp, ride with no hands, and even give rides to others on the handlebars. Soon I was a bike riding master!
You know how I know I was a bike riding master? I never wrecked my bike again. Ever.
Can you believe that? Well you shouldn’t. It’s just not true. Yes, I could ride with no hands, pop wheelies, jump ramps, and give rides on the handlebars, but I still wrecked plenty of times. Sometimes I wrecked by trying to do new things, sometimes I wrecked by going too fast, and sometimes I wrecked just riding down the street. In fact, one time I hit a pothole and flipped head first over the handlebars.
Here’s what I learned.
Things look easy from the comfort and safety of the house. I never got scraped or flipped head first over the handlebars while sitting on the bike with the kickstand engaged. I never felt the wind in my face from that position either.
No, it was only after I raised the kickstand and put foot to pedal that I experienced freedom. It was only then that I experienced the thrill of popping wheelies and jumping ramps. It was only then that I scraped my knees and gashed my elbows.
Did I stop getting on the bike after I busted open a knee or embedded gravel into my arm? No! I dusted myself off, checked to make sure none of my friends saw me wipe out, and got back on the bike!
Even times when I was totally caught off guard by a pothole that someone had filled with grass, I got back up, mounted my bike and restarted my path.
Yes, I might have had a few new tender wounds to let heal, but I also had some new wisdom in my slightly banged and bruised head. I knew to look out for potholes disguised as grass, areas of loose gravel, and bumpy spots in the road.
Now I know that this has been a story that you’ve been able to relate to because we’ve all been there. We’ve all felt the joy of getting our first bike and we’ve all tasted blood and dirt from the times we crashed. But I know for a fact that you got back on the bike.
However, somewhere along the way, in some aspect of your life, you may have crashed and decided to give up. The pain was too much, the obstacles too great.
Don’t give up. Don’t lose hope. Don’t forget the feeling of the wind in your face. Get back on the bike, head down the path you started on, and know that you might need to pick yourself up again. But each time you do, you’ll do so with new found wisdom that you’ll be able to use for the road ahead.
I’m Darrell Darnell and this has been stuff I learned yesterday.
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