Professional BMX Bike

In order for the second part of my story to make sense I need to provide you with some background information. Let's take a trip back in time twenty three years ago to New Hebron, Mississippi. To a time when when my husband wasn't my husband but a silly little boy of about eight years old with a big time imagination and a knack for exaggeration.


I'm not sure if that's changed - the part about the exaggeration, I mean. :)


I'm going to tell you about two pretty impressive friends J had as a kid. The first one, just because it's funny and the other because he makes his way into my present day story.


When J was a kid, he had a pretty tight friendship with a man named Echo. When J's friends came over they got more than an ear full of stories about Echo who lived in the woods just behind his house. It seems that J had a pretty consistent correspondence with this man who was---did I mention?----a monster. Okay he wasn't a monster. It would sound better if he was. He was just an everyday guy with a bad temper.


Anyway, J would often yell at the top of his lungs to Echo. And Echo would ---you guessed it--respond with the exact same thing that J screamed out to him.... just a few seconds later. J's friends were warned that they could only scream out to Echo in moderation, because if you overdid it, you could make him very angry. If he was mad he would come out to get you and believe the eight year old J you did NOT want that to happen.


I guess Echo got pretty tired of always repeating everything and maybe doing this a few times every once in a while was all the talking he was up for. Who knows what his beef was. As far I know he never came out to get anybody but I don't think anyone ever dared to test him.


The other friend of J's was a little nicer. J's friend, professional BMX bike racer (No name needed here) was a good friend to have. Not that Echo wasn't---let's not cross him---but BMX racer was super generous. So generous it seems that he had a BMX bike specially designed for J. Probably according to his height and weight. More than likely had special wheels put on it too and all the necessary parts to make J a mini professional bike racer. I'm guessing J's professionally made bike was the talk of the town and the other kids wished they had a friend like that.


Now lets jump to present day - December of 2009 - Christmas time.


J and I are planning our first Christmas together. We decide this year we will be our last year to buy Christmas presents for each other so we did our best to surprise each other. I got J a Nintendo DS and and J, I was convinced got me a Kindle.


If you don't know what a Kindle is, I'll tell you. It's an electronic book. You can download books to this little device and you can read them without turning pages.


How did I know I was getting that?


Well, because I'm pretty clever that's why.


Okay the truth is, is that one day J was looking at an ad for a Kindle and at the same time he brought up Christmas gifts. That's how I knew. I'm getting a Kindle!! Not so sneaky after all, J.


Here's where it gets embarrassing...


Not only did I think I was getting a Kindle, I told everyone I was getting one. Everyone at work. Everyone in the line at the Casey Jones. A woman at Louisiana Products where I stopped to get lunch. My family. My neighbors. And believe me it wasn't just one conversation with some of these people. It was multiple conversations. Yes, we talked about what they do, what the new features are, what books I should download. You see where I'm going with this...


I didn't get a Kindle.


There I said it.


If you are reading this and you wonder why I haven't talked about my kindle since Christmas, its probably because it wasn't my Christmas present.


Here's how it went on Christmas morning...


My eyes pop open. I jump up and scream "let's go see what SANTA left us!!!"


I really said that.


It was really exaggerated with a huge emphasis on the word, Santa. I get ready to race down the hall and J catches my elbow before I catapult my body out of the room. He tells me to sit still and wait.


Excuse me?


Apparently he didn't wrap my present and he needs to go into the living room and do that real quick. I give him an "are you kidding me" face. Didn't wrap my present!?


it's a KINDLE.


It's SMALL.


It would take no time to wrap. I could have wrapped it. What a slacker.


Then I hear the front door slam and I hear him walk around the side of the house. Did he leave it the car. Come on, Really?! Didn't even bring it inside. Whatever. I lay there with my arms folded. Minutes go by and I'm growing impatient. Finally the door opens and closes and he's back in the bedroom. Okay, it's ready. he says, a sly smile on his face.


I trot down the hall and then I stop.


What is that?


Yep, you guessed it, not a kindle.


BUT ........... a beautiful blue BIKE!


The bike I've been dying for!! (I gave my old one away and so I've been bikeless all this time...) "Holy Cow, You got me a bike?" I say. I'm so excited my words come out like squeals. I hug J and I say, "I thought you got me Kindle!! and he says, "What's a Kindle????"


*Sigh*


So the bike is really awesome and its a commuter huffy. As I'm inspecting it J is briefing me on all the specifics... he had them put fenders on it and a thing for a basket. "Well actually," he says with a funny grin on his face, "I had them MAKE it for you according to your height and weight." He says this like he's expecting me to laugh but I'm so impressed! "Wow," I say. "You did this all for me?"He has this look on his face like he surprised by my reaction. I hardly noticed it though because I was so caught up in the bike and the fact that it was made for me that I never thought to question it.


So now I have this bike that was MADE for me.


Let's jump to a few weeks later. J's birthday is fast approaching. With all the thousands of "I wish I had a bike" hints he had been dropping I knew that a bike would be his birthday present.


Besides I had this cool bike that was made for me and he needed one too.


Here's what my problem was. I was worried they wouldn't be able to make it in time for J's birthday which was a week and half away.


How far in advance would they need to know his height, his weight?


I needed to act fast.


I figured I should call the Petal Shop to give them the heads up that I was coming down there. I find the number and give them a call. A man answers. I explain that I need the bike pretty soon and he says that they are out of stock. This doesn't faze me because I know that it has to be made anyway and and that's all that I'm thinking about. He tells me I can order it over the phone but I tell him I want to come down there to talk to him about. He says okay but there's hesitation in his voice and I hang up the phone. Geez, I need to go over there and tell him all details to make J's bike for Pete's Sake.


On the first Monday I had off of work I drove over there. I walked in the store and head to the back where the registers were. I wave over to the sales guy and he walks over to speak with me.


"I called over here a couple days ago," I say. "I spoke to someone about getting a commuter huffy for my husband."


"It was me." he says, he looks tired or annoyed or both.


"Well," I say. "I came in to tell you all the specifics....My husband is 5'9 and I think he's about 160 pounds."


"Excuse me?"




"He is 5'9 and 160 pounds." (Does he not need to be writing this down some where?")


He just stares at me and I fumble over my words.


"Because, don't you need to know that for the bike"


"Um..."


"Because the bikes are made according to your height and weight??"


He is looking at me like I have left my brain at home. And I'm starting to feel like I might have.


I start grasping at straws, "Wait a minute. You don't make bikes to fit the person that rides them.?"


"No mam we don't. That would be weird."


"and the fenders? my husband said you added the fenders and the basket thing for me."


"It comes like that."


"Huh?"


I'm embarrassed. I write a check so fast and ask him when the bike will get here.


"Two weeks," he says.


Great.


I paid for J's pre-made bike and I jet out of there.


Oh, and by the way I'm mad.


But I can't tell J yet. Nope that would ruin his birthday surprise. :)


That Friday, we go out to eat for his birthday.


We decided to eat at Tony Mandina's because every time we go its closed, but we think might luck out this time. It's raining when we pull in and a nice man in a big yellow raincoat runs over to my side with an umbrella to walk me to the door. When we pop in I'm surprised at how pretty it is in there. I guess because its seems like such a rough exterior that the inside, with its candles and soft music, is a pleasant surprise.


We walk in and --I'm guessing Tony?-- and his wife run up to us like they know us and thank us for coming in. They're celebrating their anniversary and Tony motions over to the bar to a the biggest bouquet of long stem roses I've ever seen. We smile, congradulate them and follow the waitress to the table.


As we settle in for dinner I'm thinking about how funny it will be when I bring this up and I sort of can't wait.


Two glasses of wine and pasta dishes later, he's ready to open the card I brought with us. Since I couldn't bring a bike with us to dinner and it was still in California anyway - being made in a factory for the---uh, general public man of any height and weight-- I decide to draw a picture of a bike on his birthday card. It's barely discernible by the way because I was in a hurry.


When he finished reading the card and he's figured out what the drawing is he is thrilled.


"A Bike! Wow I had know idea"


I don't believe that....all those "I want a bike" hints.


I tell him how happy I am that he's happy. I lean in and give him a hug and a kiss.


And then....


I slide the card across the table and I take a sip of my wine.


"J, you have some explaining to do.."


"Huh?"


"Well," I say. "I went to get your bike last week and when I got there I waltzed in and told the salesman your height and weight, that you wanted fenders...."


J said, "Oh God...."


J bursted into laughter. We both did. So loud that all the tables turned to look at us.


I tell him the whole story and we are in tears laughing. He tells me how he tried to make a joke about having my Christmas bike made, because of the story of his BMX bike. A story I had heard a dozens of times. He wonder why I hadn't laughed when he told on Christmas day and decided just to let it go because I was so caught up in the bike.


Me, well I felt a whole lot like Lucy in I love Lucy - where she takes something and runs with it. And in the end Ricky and her have a pretty good laugh about it.


Good old Lucy. At least I'm not the only one. :)


P.S. I love comments! So feel free to comment. I have no idea who reads these!!