My happiest childhood memories are from the seat of a bicycle. When I was 5 my birthday present was the shiniest cherry red bicycle any little girl could hope for, this bike was somethin'.
My mom and her best friend Jeff went scouting at the junkyards the fall before. That winter his garage was off-limits to me and since I wasn't expecting a surprise I didn't think twice about it. My birthday is August 8th. Hot summer in Wisconsin, running around in my snoopy swimsuit it came time to "open presents". I remember recieving my own softball bat, a new glove Jeff would later teach me how to break-in, a softball and then a pause...where's my mom? Just minutes later she wheeled a bright red, white banana seated beauty out our front door! Oh my, they had taken a few different bicycles, stripped them down and rebuilt them into one glorious beast. The only new parts were the white grips on the super tall bars and the banana seat. They had painted it red and clear-coated it to a hi-gloss finish. My mom finished it off painting a dancing snoopy on the chainguard with the words "Niki's Snooper"! She also painted Woodstock as the head badge. It was the sweetest ride on the block!
On June 1st I flew out of Sea-tac for a long needed vacation. The occasion was a sad one, my Gammie's funeral. The whole family from both sides were there and it was an amazing reunion. My cousin Coz has a beautiful 5 year old girl named Lucy. He impressed me so much, becoming an amazing 26 year old young man with an artist's soul...I hope that he and his awesome girlfriend Emily will visit Seattle soon.
Jeff met me at the airport at midnight with two bikes, one a trek mt. bike w/slicks for me to cruise. On the non-drive chainstay he had painted "Niki's Snooper" bringing me almost to tears. We road for three hours that night, all around my hometown of Appleton, WI. I grew up just off the campus of Lawrence University and at night almost twenty years later it still felt like home. The next day, after the service, we rolled out to his favorite bike shop "The Recyclist". Becky Boehlen, one of the owners, kindly allowed me to peruse the attic. I scored a pair of Phil Wood track pedals! The skies were sunny and blue all weekend long. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my Gammie's life, reliving all of those old memories just the way I did when I was 8, riding bikes out to her house on Apple Creek Road and cruising Appleton on "Niki's Snooper".