Sunday morning. Two insomniacs sleepin' in. Counting. Waiting on it to be late enough or early enough to make coffee, let the dogs out, dial each other's numbers....Kimbies and I. "Whatchya doin' today?" "Ah, dunno. It's cold. I wish we could just go to the beach" "yeah" "Soon sister, soon...." "yeah". "Hey, you think we should get bikes? For the beach, I mean?" "To like ride at sunrise?" "Yeah....yeah, I do"Sunday morning. 10:45. Two sibs in painted pajamas and sock feet waiting on the sun to do it's job. "What's you're agenda for today?" "I dunno. Wanna go bike shoppin'?"
So we did. With Papa, Kimbies hub, in tow. We made the rounds. Walmart, K-Mart, Target, (Sears doesn't sell 'em anymore) We tooled around toy departments, balancing on pegs, braking fast for little old ladies with buggies. We cruised up the sock aisles and banged 360's in "I accidently got here" automotive departments. We shimmied on seats and "grrrrrrrr'ed" the handlebars. We posed for pretend pictures. "How cool do I look on this one?"
We left empty handed over and over again. Dreaming of the perfect ride. "It'll have a cushy seat, tilted a little forward" "I wanna basket" "Not me, I wanna beer rack, a little fender in the back with bungy cords" "Hmmmmm, I just wanna be able to ride facing the sun, not the sidewalk, all crunched over" " I wanna banana seat" "You said that already!"
And then we went there. The "Sports" store! The doors opened automatically. Beeping. We passed rows and rows of boring clothes, water bottles, and neon colored nerf balls. Rubber tires were lined up one after another like wet noses poking through a fence. The bikes! We looked around. Unleashed them. All of them. "This one's mine! Mine! Mine!" Papa's little ride was deja vue, and after three trips around the cleats, he was slingin' Sunday morning papers with his right hand....Cha!Chink! "Morning, Mrs. Robinson!" Kimbies wobbled. Teetered. Smiled. Gained speed. "Clink~Clink"~ her right hand tinked the handlebar, "gonna get a little bell soon" ! I climbed on from the back, no sissy bar on this baby, straddled the black and red and tan Freedom Flyer, and took off. Big wheels turning. We waved when we passed each other. Two fingers raised for peace....Kimbies clinking!
And then we parked them.
Got in the car and drove home.
Thank God we turned around......
Tonight on my way home from nowhere, big wheels turnin', I heard New Orleans in the wind. And then, there around the corner, up the hill, broken sidewalk between us, was the trumpet player....
21 comments:
Sunday afternoon revisited! Too much fun!
my god, singleton, you create such incredible movement when you write. fast, furious, and fabulously fun. of course i don't know if you bought the bikes or not--i rarely know your endings, but since i know your beginings and in-betweens, that leaves me a content friend of yours...
:)
These stories are always a wild ride,,,,makes me happy to be hitching along!
"wet noses poking through a fence",,,beautiful! Brings to mind my horse ridin' days.
For a minute I thought I could hear the trumpet,,,
Fabulous story! Great prose! Thanks!
fun- I've been lyin out every day about 20 minutes - cravin beach too though
Skinny....There's something soulfully blessed about Sundays...and this one was just perfectly in~tink! ILYSVVM. Travel safe sweet sib!
KJ...sweet friend, you do know my beginnings and in betweens, and I doubt if it would surprise you by now, but even I don't know the endings....clink!
Babs....it was the most beautiful sound, it billowed over the houses like wild smoke.....And I'm thinkin' whose riding around with their boombox blasting out that incredible gift? And then, there he was, all by himself, making music to the skies....And me by happenchance!
Sometimes Saintly....the best stories, the best prose, peeled right outa real life....I couldn't make up a better ending for a day if I tried! Thank you....
ibeati....Girl, we all need the beach! It heals, it soothes, it is a lullabye like no other.....For the first time in my native life I'm "pale" as Haley would say! Luggin' that damn cast and keeping it dry for months has left me lonesome for the water, the sun, for tomorrow! (Oh and the pool poppin' didn't help either!:)
Peace~love to all....
Listen to the wind,
you never ever know what you'll find blowin' there.....
Rolling on the river...
Like wet noses. Brilliant!
Ultra....Clink! "Rollin on the river" Just finished watching Tina belt that baby out! How funny is that!
singtome: -as always,
thanks for the ride ")
and p.s. -any word from mr poetry? everything okay i wonder..
much love to you & yours! ~s
You know how to have fun! :)
Hope all is well by the beach.
Ha! Ha! Ha! My husband (dead) says his ex got really upset with him for riding the bicycles, inside the store, with his kids. He was like, "What? Are there walmart natzis?" Sounds like you guys ended up with some bikes! Someone stole mine last year, and I haven't yet been able to replace it. Sniff...
i'm wondering about mr. poetry too...
She....That's what we gotta do, Love the ride! We've got a whole village a little worried about Eric, that guy knows how to find internet anywhere, and knows his words are welcome everywhere! Wish he'd just bop back to his treehouse and send us all a smoke signal!
Anne....oh girl, the beach is gonna be the bomb! Can't wait for Skinny to get here! Hope you're lovin' it at the new homestead....I clink! ya!
Shimmerings...Awww....we rode them in every store! Lifting them out of their little lasso's and onto the carpeted aisles. Yes, a few people had to hop outa the way, but mostly they just smiled. Three really big kids on a Sunday!
It's been a lifetime since I've had my own, my last was a hand-me-down from my neighbors pre-teen grandaughter. It shifted gears on it's own, rattled and shook. But this baby......Woodstock! He's just my size! Get a wild oat, your boy-o and go showroom cruisin' this week-end!
KJ....We're a chorus.....
Much love my friends
When I was in junior high school and high school, our family owned the biggest bike store in town.
I used to swap out one used trade in for another, and I always had a cool ride until I got my license... and then... who gave a fuck, about bikes, right?
Years later, I rode on across Australia...
A roadtrip, new orleans jazz, and the circle... what more could anyone ask for...
Ride on my sister!
With love, M
for me, nothing beats a good bike. even in (most of) the winter. today is sunny and cool, perfect for it. i'm going for a ride.
Yay for bikes on the beach, any way you end up getting them!
Scott....Oh, I remember the love affair with the first car, too! Fickle, arent we? But then, life's a circle, and first loves hold a charm like no other....and somehow....the circle is unbroken!
Maithri....you above all, would have fallen in love with the wind I heard, windchimes spilling over the hill, and then as if in imagination land....One man at the top of the hill, playing to the skies! The gift of chance, of timing, of meant to be!
Benji...ride on, brother! Feel the wind, the sun, the freedom. It rocks!
Justrun...you get it! You so totally get it!
Peace~love friends
And the wind....
Butterflies dance there
My friend, have you ever been to Floots site?
http://www.i-land-i-site.blogspot.com/
or bellas
http://beyondthemap.blogspot.com/
Just friends in hiding, i thought id introduce you to ;)
Love, M
The way you weave memories into the now...bananna seats and newspapers...I remember those...and the arched metal back supports, the ones behind the seats. You don't see those anymore, do you?
Thank you.
Maithri....
Thank you, my friend. Your friends are the kind of people I'd be honored to know. I have a feeling that the people that gravitate towards you are awesome souls....
Katherine.....Oh yeah! The sissy bar! Nope, they don't put 'em on bikes anymore, but JSYK there was one on the midnight "ride" I took the other night. I could just lean back and watch the stars flying over us, let my arms play soaring bird in the wind....It was wonderful!
Peace~love my friends.....
Listen to the wind....
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