Since returning three years ago, to reside once again in the state of my birth, I find myself musing, more and more about my youth, in the great state of Kansas.
We were a "bike riding" bunch of kids, between ages 8-14. We rode everywhere we wanted to go. No one asked their folks for a ride and no moms every had to organize carpools. My friends and I were our own activity planners. Three or four of us would ride our bikes to school, the movie theater, the public swimming pool, the library, local parks and each other's houses for entertainment. If we had been so inclined we could have ridden from one end of town to the other and back, in about an hour's time. But we never did, because there was always something interesting to do, along the way.
There were no designated "Bike Lanes", in ancient history. I don't recall any really awful accidents involving bicycles, in my youth. I'm sure there were some, but for the most part we traversed the town using the side streets and alleys. It worked. We were mobile and we watched out for any traffic that would impeded our progress. Perhaps we were aware of the traffic rules......and just maybe we were incredibly lucky!
Things changed, when we all turned 14. In Kansas, believe it or not, a legal Drivers License could be attained at the ripe old age of 14. Now that I am older and wiser, it occurs to me that no 14 year old has any business, behind the steering wheel of a car. But, I did it and so did most of my friends. However, only one of my girlfriends and a couple of boys had their own cars. The rest of us had to get in line to "borrow" the family car, because we certainly to "old" to be riding bikes!
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Dear Lord. We all have our ages and stages. Aging isn't easy, but one of the many joys we have, hopefully, is remembering the good times. Thank you for staying with us, along our journey through life.
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