Week 8:
50. What is one activity that you remember from kindergarten?
51. Describe your childhood hair cut - the worst one :)
52. Who was your favorite elementary school teacher?
53. How did you get your most wicked-looking scar?
54. What is your favorite cake flavor?
55. When did you learn how to ride a bike? Did you learn how to ride a bike? Who taught you? What kind of bike was it? Where did it come from?
56. Describe who else in your family has helped you in your own research and how.
57. What is the first thing you remember memorizing?
My grandfather and I were talking about his first bike the other day. His brother was a year and a half older than he was. One year for his birthday, he asked for a bike - and he got it. My grandfather was so excited about his brother's bicycle that he asked his parents for a bike on his birthday...and got a wagon. He said that he remembered looking at it and thinking "what am I going to do with this wagon?"
My grandfather continued to want a bike. He went to school and overheard a classmate talking about his own bike. His father had taken it apart and couldn't put it back together. He said that he would sell it for $1. My grandfather's father had worked in a bike shop, and Grandpa knew that his father could put that bike back together without any trouble.
He said that he went home and spoke to his father, and together they went to his classmates house. For $1 they purchased the bike, and my great-grandfather put it together. My grandfather had a bike that was metal with big white tires. He said that it ended up being newer than his brother's bike - which was still wooden in some places.
My mom bought my first bike. We had always had some kind of tricycle - a red one at my grandparent's house that had belonged to my cousins once, and a pink and blue and white one that had been mine at my house (the seat lifted up for extra storage!). When we got older, they let us ride around on the bikes that they had brought home from Germany (they had bells and baskets).
When I was little, I decided that I wanted to have a "big kid" bike. One Saturday, my mom took me to a garage sale. And we found the bike. It was mint green, and it said "Puppy Love" on the side. There were pictures of puppies, but they had started to peel away. It wasn't brand new, but it was mine. |
I remember riding around with my mom, and with my dad. Caitlin, my little sister, now had her own little tricycle. Our driveway was on a pretty good slope, and I had plenty of space to ride around over and over again. I would ride under the carport, around the drive way, and back into the garage - it was hours of entertainment.
My next bike was brand new, I got it for Christmas. And I was really sad to see the Puppy Love, mint green bike go. I remember more about that old garage sale bicycle than I do the newer one that came next ( I can't really remember what color that one was, but I think it was purple).