One day the guys and I were leaving a Rexall Pharmacy where we had just finished a graveyard soda from the fountain.

As we were walking I noticed a bunch of bikes in the front yard of this old house. It turned out to be a bicycle shop tucked away at the far end of the block so we went in to check out the new bikes. As it turned out, it was a Schwinn bike store. Have you ever heard the phrase… “love at first sight.” It was the first time that I had ever seen a ten speed bike and it was a Schwinn, the Cadillac of bikes at the time.

When I got home all I talked about to my parents was Schwinn this and Schwinn that and that it had ten speeds. I probably sounded like that kid in the movie Christmas story. The boy in the movie wanted a Red Ryder BB rifle. For me it was a Schwinn ten speed! Dad said maybe for Christmas, and that was that, end of conversation!
For the next few months I would walk up to the bike shop and checkout the new bikes, look at the accessories and take home the latest information about my ten speed bike, and of course I’d leave the information mixed in with the mail on the dinning room table. I did that for months.

Finally December and now Christmas; I can’t wait till it’s morning to ride my new Schwinn ten speed. Tossing and turning I just had to get up and take a peek so around 3:00 AM I slowly opened my bedroom door and tiptoed into the hall and shined my flashlight onto the tree to get a glimpse of my new bike. The lights on the tree made everything look so magical and beautiful, and under the tree…. PRESENTS… but where was my bike? I couldn’t see it! ….But then ….I saw something shinny and red from behind the tree, it was a bike! I tiptoed with a big smile back into bed to wait till morning.
Time to get up, rise and shine. No one had to tell me twice. I got up and ran into the kitchen for breakfast, no presents until after breakfast; that was the rule.
After breakfast we all went into the living room to celebrate Christmas. Dad always handed out the small presents first; I think to build up the excitement and anticipation. After Rick and I opened our small presents, Dad said we each had one left. I could see some of my present peeking from behind the tree. After Rick opened his last present it was then my turn!
After months and months of talking, hinting, and dreaming, it now was going to happen! I can still remember it just like yesterday. I was so excited! Dad got up and rolled from behind the tree
a freshly painted, shinny, candy apple red…OLD CLUNKER!

Yep, that’s right, an old clunker with white finders. No Schwinn, no ten speed, and no new bike!
To say the least I was devastated, but I managed to say thanks anyway. Kaye says she can read my face like a book; I hope that it wasn’t the case then, but it probably was. Rick came up to me later and said that he helped Dad paint the bike. I looked at the bike and said, “It is a cool color.”
Later Christmas day I took the CLUNKER out for a ride. I noticed It had new tires, seat, and the wheels had been polished up, probably with an SOS pad. It also had new handle grips. Just as I was thinking that the white finders had to go two of my friends showed up. They each had a new bike, one had a new Schwinn Sting Ray.

It was really cool with a banana seat with high handle bars; he showed me how he could do a wheelie. My other friend had a new Schwinn ten speed, it was a candy gold color with white handle raps and the wheels had the quick change levers. It looked fast! It was Just like the one I wanted!

Then they said lets ride!
As we were riding around I started noticing things about my OLD bike. I could do more things on my bike than that new ten speed could do! Like, I could jump curbs, go through mud puddles, I could climb a mud hill, I could go down a mud hill, I could slam on my breaks and slide maybe 20 or 30 feet, I could ride someone on my handle bars, I could peel out in gravel, I could pull 2 wagons tied together. Heck, I could even ride down the steps on our front porch on my NEW bike! Plus I could go just as fast as that old ten speed.
Thanks Dad and Rick!

Grandpa Tom