Where it all began

 

We were in Parsons TN. I was riding in the back seat with my parents, I have no idea why we were in town. As we drove down the main street, just before the traffic light, I was looking out the window and this little red mini-bike caught my eye. I don't recall thinking much about motorcycles until that moment, I guess it's just a boy thing, I don't know, but I got excited enough to direct my Dad's attention to it. I guess it's just a Dad thing, but as we were coming back on the way home my Dad pulled over at the store. It was sitting out on the sidewalk in front of the store, the only one they had. I ask what we were doing, I don't remember the exact words, but my Dad was going to take a look at this little red mini-bike.

To my complete surprise, before I was able to process what was going on, we were loading this thing in the trunk of the car. I didn't know what was happening was the beginning of something that would last me a lifetime, I just know it felt pretty exciting. 

By the time we arrived home, it had rained and the grass was wet, but that didn't stop me from my first adventure! My Dad rigged up a makeshift cardboard rear finder to keep the mud and water somewhat intact, pulled on the recoil starter rope, and fired the massive 2.5 hp Briggs up! The seat felt soft and comfortable, and the footpegs were metal and slick. There was one brake lever on the side of the frame, it was necessary to remove your foot from the footrest and place your whole foot on the brake lever the operate it. This brake design was simply a crooked rode with a metal flap welded to it that rubbed against the rear tire when applied. Simple but suffieient!

I placed my hands on the handlebars and felt the vibrations of the massive Briggs engine hitting those heavy strokes! I twisted the throttle grip and the automatic centrifugal clutch began to engage. The movement I felt in response to the throttle, well, I can't quite describe it. But I was hooked, life would never be the same now, there was no going back! I was 11 years old, the year was 1970, and that summer was absolutely amazing! 

This was absolutely a total surprise, we didn't have much as far as possessions go. Heck, we were still going to the outhouse, no running water yet. Dad was a sawyer at a local sawmill, Mom was home with me and my little brother. I never expected to have something like a mini-bike, it cost nearly $100.00, seems like $88.00 was on the tag. That was a lot of money for us then, heck, just having a bicycle put you in an upper-class category, especially if it was one of those spider bikes with the banana seat. 

There was a path between two fields that lead up to my Great Uncles' yard, I literally wore the grass off that summer going up and down that path. Before long it was time to venture out a little more with this newfound freedom. I talked Mom into letting me ride it out to my neighbor's house, a cousin of mine lived there and we played together quite a bit. It was my first ride down the road for about 1,500 feet, but it was enough to get the wind in my face. Micheal saw it and before I knew it, his Dad had him one also, I guess Dads are just like that. 

Of course, the path and the yard were soon not enough, we needed more! Trails began to form, and red clay gullies were discovered. The next few years were awesome, we were soon asking more of our little bikes than they could deliver for us. Clutches burned out, chains broke, and throttle cables gave way. We did not have hills to climb, but some of those red clay gullies came pretty close. The bottom of the mini would hang at the top and then we had that awesome wheel spin! Sweat, smoke, tire burn, hot oil smell, and those times just sitting and talking, letting it all cool down made for an indescribable summertime!  

Our family still had their struggles, my Dad was drinking more and the atmosphere at home was sometimes a bit of a challenge, but it seems that little red mini-bike sweetened it just a bit, if things went bad, I could grab those handles bars and to some small degree put those things out of my mind. We were not going to church yet, I knew little about the church and the Gospel. I suppose I knew it was out there, but I didn't think much about it. My world was still small, a little red mini-bike called a Hornet (it had a black Hornet emblem on the front) and a few trails. But it was enough to have some wonderful summers and make some of these memories to share.

However, my world began to enlarge, and I discovered Motorcycle magazines!  I saw bikes in there much more impressive than my little red Hornet. I began to paste them on the wall in my room. I eventually had the wall covered, so I started to paste them on the ceiling. I didn't realize it then, but my Mom sure was gracious in letting me do that to her house! I started dreaming about having a real dirt bike, and I did everything I could to hint at it. The hints were not getting me anywhere, so I finally started just plain out asking for one. Dad explained to me they were too expensive, we simply couldn't afford one. I was going to just have to make do with the little red Hornet. I really understood, but I was getting bigger and the little Hornet was staying the same size. Then my cousin Micheal got an upgrade, a yellow Honda CL 100cc. Wow! It had blinkers and chrome, lights, a speedometer, gears, a manual clutch, and spoke wheels, it was a real motorcycle! I was glad for him, but it was devasting for me! 

I was learning that things in this life, as wonderful as they are in the moment, are only that, for the moment. The feeling I had when I first got that little red Hornet mini-bike was no longer there. It no longer gave me the rush it did in the beginning. I began to feel deprived, I deserved more! Now I was a good kid, I didn't give my Dad any lip over it. I still understood it was out of our reach to get me a real motorcycle. Nor did I hold hard feelings toward my Dad or disrespect him in any way for not getting me one. But it is what I felt inside, it didn't seem fair. Having to make do with that little red mini-bike was causing all kinds of uncomfortable feelings, and the summers didn't look so good anymore. 

Some would say I didn't deserve it, and if I wanted one, I should have gotten out and worked for it. They would be right, but somehow I didn't have that understanding yet. I was shy and not very socially oriented, I was not afraid of working, I just somehow didn't know how to put all that together. I lived in the rural country area of Tennessee, and my world was still small even though it was getting bigger. I would eventually put some of these things together, but it would be a few years down the road. That's for another story. We simply have to walk through things in our lives, sometimes they work out and get better, and sometimes they don't. When I get time for another post, we'll look at what happened next. 

Thanks for reading,

David