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rdunhamtn(at)hotmail.com
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 Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 5:40 pm Post subject: Castaways! |
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Ernest C
Loved your post!
When I was about 13 C one of six kids of a US Navy enlisted man C and "poor" by my kids standards C I was being given a tour of the spoiled kid up the street's garage. He wanted to show off his 10 speed bike. That was in about 1966 C so 10 speeds were the neatest newest bike thing.
In the corner lay an assortment of bike parts. Castaways! I asked him what it was and he told me it was a 3 speed bike. I asked if it was all there. He replied in the affirmative. I asked how much he wanted for it. He said $3.50. I said I'll take it!
Now C when you're an enlisted man and you're feeding C clothing and housing a family of 8 C the kids don't get allowances or any other form of cash. We never missed it. We didn't know any better. BUT... I didn't have a bike and I really WANTED one.
I mowed lawns for money. If I recall C I got about $2.50 a lawn. I used a hand powered mower and hand edger. I gave my customers a really good grooming for the money. So... I had some cash in my pocket that fateful day. And.. I really WANTED that bike!
I paid the money C gathered up the castaway bike and headed home feeling like I'd just cheated that "rich" kid out of something priceless! I took it home and assembled it and sure enough it was all there C except for a few ball bearings which I was able to purchase from a local bike store for pennies apiece.
I was in hog heaven. I drove that bike all over San Diego. Never once was I ashamed of its appearance or the fact that everyone else seemed to have 7 gears more than I did. That castaway bike was my magic carpet and I exercised it C and myself C every chance I got.
Now C I'm an MD C my kids always had a nice bike and I have not broken a sweat providing college educations to them both. I live in a nice suburb of Knoxville and life is good. I'm the most successful of my siblings. I've come to believe it's because I had Polio in my infancy and grew up "crippled". Hah! I had the most to overcome and my parents didn't baby me. They allowed my entrepreneurial endeavors and encouraged me to exercise my body with that bike. I'm choking up right now as I write this. What great memories! I've worked for everything I've ever had including OBAM aircraft and that makes them even sweeter to me.
You'll be a great student! My instructor told me one day that I was the most prepared student he'd ever had. You see C I really WANTED to fly that airplane!
Rodney in Tennessee
Unabashed Nuckollhead
DO NOT ARCHIVE
<snip>
[quote] Nawh C living on a farm is orthogonal. A child just has to grow up
without being handed everything he wants. He has to learn to WANT
things. Then he has to learn that things can be had from one's own hands
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jd(at)lawsonimaging.ca
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| Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:22 pm Post subject: Castaways! |
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Rodney Dunham wrote:
| Quote: |
In the corner lay an assortment of bike parts. Castaways! I asked him
what it was and he told me it was a 3 speed bike. I asked if it was all
there. He replied in the affirmative. I asked how much he wanted for it.
He said $3.50. I said I'll take it!
|
Just an aside, Rodney... you were ahead of your time! A couple years ago, I was
visiting my son the bike courier in Victoria, BC. He was using a many speed
dérailleur at the time, and I reminisced about my childhood Raleigh bike, with
an internal 3-speed hub. Long story short, we scrounged up one of those hubs,
and I taught him how to lace a wheel, stainless steel spokes and nipples.
Several months later, all the couriers were using 3-speed internal hubs, and to
this day, it is his bike-of-choice!
--
Regards, J.
Sonex #325 C-FJNJ, Jab 3300a, Prince P-Tip
http://cleco.ca
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| J. Davis, M.Sc. | (computer science) |
| *NIX consulting, SysAdmin | email: jd at lawsonimaging.ca |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
and now... Deep Thought #82, by Jack Handy
I scrambled to the top of the precipice where Nick was waiting. "That was
fun," I said. "You bet it was," said Nick. "Let's climb higher." "No," I said.
"I think we should be heading back now." "We have time," Nick insisted. I
said we didn't, and Nick said we did. We argued back and forth like that for
about 20 minutes, then finally decided to head back. I didn't say it was an
interesting story.
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jindoguy(at)gmail.com
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| Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 2:25 pm Post subject: Castaways! |
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Okay, as long as this thread has been opened. No childhood reminiscing here, I built the trike in the picture last March. The fork head is off a chicom BMX bike, the steering head is from a 60's era Monky Wards girls bike (still has the made in Austria sticker), the cranks are from a 70's Nishiki, and the rear axle, complete with Shimano 3 speed and differential, is from a 70's industrial trike. There is an electric connection, too. That big silver hub on the front wheel is a 36 volt electric motor. She'll do 16 mph on the motor alone and get to 20 if you pedal along. It has a range of about 15 miles.
Rick Girard
do not archive
On Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 4:13 PM, j. davis <jd(at)lawsonimaging.ca (jd(at)lawsonimaging.ca)> wrote:
| Quote: | --> AeroElectric-List message posted by: "j. davis" <jd(at)lawsonimaging.ca (jd(at)lawsonimaging.ca)>
Rodney Dunham wrote:
| Quote: |
In the corner lay an assortment of bike parts. Castaways! I asked him what it was and he told me it was a 3 speed bike. I asked if it was all there. He replied in the affirmative. I asked how much he wanted for it. He said $3.50. I said I'll take it!
|
Just an aside, Rodney... you were ahead of your time! A couple years ago, I was visiting my son the bike courier in Victoria, BC. He was using a many speed dérailleur at the time, and I reminisced about my childhood Raleigh bike, with an internal 3-speed hub. Long story short, we scrounged up one of those hubs, and I taught him how to lace a wheel, stainless steel spokes and nipples. Several months later, all the couriers were using 3-speed internal hubs, and to this day, it is his bike-of-choice!
--
Regards, J.
Sonex #325 C-FJNJ, Jab 3300a, Prince P-Tip
http://cleco.ca
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| J. Davis, M.Sc. | (computer science) |
| *NIX consulting, SysAdmin | email: jd at lawsonimaging.ca |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
and now... Deep Thought #82, by Jack Handy
I scrambled to the top of the precipice where Nick was waiting. "That was
fun," I said. "You bet it was," said Nick. "Let's climb higher." "No," I said.
"I think we should be heading back now." "We have time," Nick insisted. I
said we didn't, and Nick said we did. We argued back and forth like that for
about 20 minutes, then finally decided to head back. I didn't say it was an
interesting story.
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