Warm weather is here and school is out and we are headed for disaster. Back in Nickerson, Kansas we had rules. Be home before dark and if the street light came on before we made it inside there was hell to pay. There was no street light on Strong Street, but we could see the one over on the highway. And we had to wash our feet before we crawled into bed. And if we woke up in the night and had to use the "facility" we had to wake up a sibling. to accompany us. They did not have to go all the way out there, just stand by the door in case a mountain lion was lurking on the path and grabbed us. I have no idea what anyone would have done at that point, but at least the family would have some sort of an idea of why we were missing the next morning. In all fairness here, I had an older sister who was prone to sneak out and meet her boyfriend in the middle of the night and no one knew. She could have been eaten and that would have been the end of her sneaking out, I am sure.
Speaking of sneaky, another rule was that whoever got in from school first got to turn on the television and set right in front of it. Course the only thing on was the test pattern. Actual programing started at 6:00 and ended at 10:00. Donna was always first through the door, so she would turn on the television, adjust her chair and set there enthralled telling us to be quiet so she could hear the occasional beep. She also like to get a loaf of bread, if we had one, and open it, remove the crust and eat the soft part out of the loaf. She did not like crusts. She should come to my high tea, huh?
We could always find a 55 gallon barrel to roll down the street and we would jump on it and walk on top of it and have more damn fun. But the best treat of all was to ride a bicycle. Of course that was a few and far between treat since the only bicycle we had access to was sthe neighbors and access to that was always a little "iffy" for several reasons, the main one being the tires rarely had air in them and mostly we fought with the neighbors. I never actually learned to ride until I was 13 or 14 years old. I won a bicycle at the local grocery and pushed it all the way home because it was an English racing bike, a boys bike and the tires on it were very skinny and did not stand a chance against the goat heads on Stong Street.
But the rules! Before we could ride anywhere except up and down the street, we had to go to town and get a tag for the bike. And we had to know the rules. Bicycles were the same rules as cars. Ride on the right side of the road just like a car. Signal your turns. Stop at stop signs. You know the rules.
Well, those rules seem to have gone out the window. I meet bicyclists coming toward me on the right side of the road. I am always amazed at what they are thinking. Where do they think I am going to go? If they were ahead of me going the same direction I am going, I could adjust my speed and pass them when it was safe, but since they are in my lane coming towards me, I am at a loss as to what to do. If the left lane is clear, I can dodge them. If it isn't I am given a choice of hitting them head on or hitting a 2 ton truck head on. Guess who is going to get plowed into?
And now I see the city is adding bike lanes all over town. So what rules appy there? Must they go with the flow of traffic or are they allowed to openly meet us head on? And what about when they meet each other head on? Now I see them shooting through traffic and hopping up on the sidewalk. What about that rule that they can not ride on the side walk or is that just to placate silly old women like me?
So enough of my ramblings for today. I shall go close up the geese and hope a mountain lion does not get me, or better yet, hope there are no bike lanes in my back yard.
Speaking of sneaky, another rule was that whoever got in from school first got to turn on the television and set right in front of it. Course the only thing on was the test pattern. Actual programing started at 6:00 and ended at 10:00. Donna was always first through the door, so she would turn on the television, adjust her chair and set there enthralled telling us to be quiet so she could hear the occasional beep. She also like to get a loaf of bread, if we had one, and open it, remove the crust and eat the soft part out of the loaf. She did not like crusts. She should come to my high tea, huh?
We could always find a 55 gallon barrel to roll down the street and we would jump on it and walk on top of it and have more damn fun. But the best treat of all was to ride a bicycle. Of course that was a few and far between treat since the only bicycle we had access to was sthe neighbors and access to that was always a little "iffy" for several reasons, the main one being the tires rarely had air in them and mostly we fought with the neighbors. I never actually learned to ride until I was 13 or 14 years old. I won a bicycle at the local grocery and pushed it all the way home because it was an English racing bike, a boys bike and the tires on it were very skinny and did not stand a chance against the goat heads on Stong Street.
But the rules! Before we could ride anywhere except up and down the street, we had to go to town and get a tag for the bike. And we had to know the rules. Bicycles were the same rules as cars. Ride on the right side of the road just like a car. Signal your turns. Stop at stop signs. You know the rules.
Well, those rules seem to have gone out the window. I meet bicyclists coming toward me on the right side of the road. I am always amazed at what they are thinking. Where do they think I am going to go? If they were ahead of me going the same direction I am going, I could adjust my speed and pass them when it was safe, but since they are in my lane coming towards me, I am at a loss as to what to do. If the left lane is clear, I can dodge them. If it isn't I am given a choice of hitting them head on or hitting a 2 ton truck head on. Guess who is going to get plowed into?
And now I see the city is adding bike lanes all over town. So what rules appy there? Must they go with the flow of traffic or are they allowed to openly meet us head on? And what about when they meet each other head on? Now I see them shooting through traffic and hopping up on the sidewalk. What about that rule that they can not ride on the side walk or is that just to placate silly old women like me?
So enough of my ramblings for today. I shall go close up the geese and hope a mountain lion does not get me, or better yet, hope there are no bike lanes in my back yard.
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