BIKE FOR YOUR LIFE, KID!

CONTENT WARNING: Threat Of Violence

When I was ten, I had to have permission to go the few blocks to my grade school to play on the playground in the summer.

I asked my dad if I could go after lunch. He said I could, but I had to be home before he came home from work. That afternoon went by pretty fast. I was so caught up in play that I paid no attention to the time. Even though I didn’t have a watch, I knew what time it was by the cars driving by the school.

The next thing I knew, my dad drove up to the playground and motioned me to his car.

Dad: “You get home before I come into the driveway. If you don’t make it, I will bring you back here and whip you every step of the way home.”

It was only two blocks, but…

I took off like the heel flies were after me. I got off my bike at the back door just as he pulled in. I MADE IT!

Fifteen years later, my dad, my older brother, and I were talking about our old days, and I brought up that story and the fact that I made it before he got home.

Dad: “No, you didn’t. I sat in the car at the alley until I saw you whiz by, and then I drove around the block to give you time to get in the yard. I didn’t have the heart to carry out my threat.”