So what does this say about me? Does it make me a bad person that I experience a certain degree of giddy pleasure each time I hear a car in the parking lot struggling to come to life? I mean, I feel for the person trying to turn it over. Way in the past I had my own hard times with motorized transport. But somewhat like an ex smoker lecturing someone, virulently about the hazards of smoking, I want to step outside and say "Hey, if you rode a bike you'd be home now!" Heh, heh. And just what is the sense in asking me, as I am riding up to the shop on a bicycle, "Excuse me, do you have any jumper cables?" And imagine the incredulity in some folks eyes when you tell them "I don't own a car" Their immediate impression is that I have a DUI, but can't grasp the concept that we choose not to own a car!
ANYWAY!
Last night brought our hard working wayward son home for a visit. That in and of it's self is a weird concept to grasp. He's visiting. They have down time on his job and had to pick up a new team member back at the home office so they will be in town for about a week. In true "coming home" fashion, after the slew of excited greetings (we didn't tell the kids he was coming. It was a very heart felt reunion) he emptied his cooler, past out pop tarts, then threw his laundry in the washer and asked to take a shower.
He has changed. And I can say with full conviction, for the better! For most of his young adult life he portrayed the stereotypical "sullen" teenager. Not very interested in anything, inactive and indifferent. He spent the majority of his time, after flunking out of school shuffling back and forth in the house, miserable, with nothing to do but chores. He needed to get out of the house! Watching him each day was like watching an elephant in captivity. If you have ever been to the zoo, you'll see at times the depressive shuffle and wobbling back and forth they do as they hate being captive. Same thing with him! I felt a very great sense of relief and satisfaction last night as I greeted him with a very strong bear hug. Now, I'm sure some of you can remember that in the past I have mentioned my philosophy is that life is both comprised and defined by "moments". All the other crap we do 24 hours a day is merely labor to get to those moments. Last night was a big moment. I find it hard to describe how we hugged, but he released a breath of air with an audible "humph" through a smile. It spoke volumes to me. No more is he that sullen teenager, but instead he has become a man. He has walked in his own shoes, done his own days labor for a days pay. He has begun to realize what every young man should know about the value of work and providing for oneself and for those around him. He was very proud that he was able to provide a snack for all the kids. It may not seem like much to anyone else, but it's significance was not lost on me. He even splurged for a large package of "Magic" cards for Logan and I. As he handed them to me he stated "for the cause". His whole demeanor has done a 180! The mere fact that he was smiling meant the world! He really wanted to pay for dinner last night, but I respectfully said he needed to save his money. And everyone was happy to see him. All old sibling animosity and needling, in-fighting, gone. Replaced by genuine gratitude to just have him back in the fold. He seems more polite, respectful and genuine. I have to admit, with a small level of reservation, I am proud of the man.
ALL RIGHT!
Enough sentiment, my eyes are getting puffy! ON to OUR work!
If you caught the blurb last night about the Spaceliner you know what I was up to for the better part of yesterday. This one took some SERIOUS cleaning to get her looking like that! It was a throw away retrieved by a scrapper then, in an odd series of events, ended up here. Funny story. The scrapper in question was under the misunderstanding that we were a pawn shop, and had brought some Playstation 2 games in to see if we were buying. I was interested, but only because we have a PS3 that will play them, so I went out to his truck to see what he had. It was then that I noticed a chrome set of handlebars poking out from underneath a pile of refuse. I inquired if he was interested in selling the bike, and what was it? We dug, and dug, and dug eventually revealing this rare gem! Murray made the Spaceliner cruiser for Sears from 1964-1968 only! I did a little research online to try and find a base price but the only information I could come up with was history, and the only pictures came from vintage bicycle museums. I took a clue from a similar bike from the same year that shared some of the same characteristics, and a Bendix red stripe rear coaster that is SMOOTH, and came up with a negotiable asking price. But MAN is this thing SAH-WEET, and it has a retro chain guard to DIE for!
Also, on the more realistic side of things, managed to put out a nice looking ladies 24" 18 speed MTB!
Today Ive got a few more goodies to tinker with but I need MORE!! Dig through your garage folks! Check under the bushes in the back yard, clean out the shed! I'm feeling generous today!
All right, I best get at it!
See ya soon!
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| LADIES 18 SPEED, 24" MTB!! ONLY $50.00!!! |
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