What was the best Christmas present you ever received? Cast your memory back to all those Christmas trees, stretching back through your childhood, and think of the presents wrapped underneath. Which gifts were the most exciting? What stands out above the rest?
If you're anything like me, and even if you're not so much like me, chances are, one of the most memorable was a bicycle. In that classic Christmas film, A Christmas Story, little Ralphie wished desperately for a Red Rider BB Gun. But I think for a lot of kids, over a lot of generations, a new bike was the ultimate Christmas present. Shiny new paint. Gleaming chrome. Carefully wrapped, or maybe just decked with a few eye-catching ribbons and bows, the sight of a brand new bicycle beside the tree was guaranteed excitement. It was like a gift of freedom and mobility in a beautiful, two-wheeled package. What kid didn't put a bicycle on the top of their Christmas list at least once in their lifetime? For some Retrogrouch readers, I'll bet a brand new, gleaming bicycle would still be a wish-list topper, and the source of a lot of excitement if one actually showed up under the tree.
Even for people who haven't ridden a bike since getting their first driver's license (however many years or decades may have passed since then) I think it's pretty significant that even many of them once experienced that kind of joy and excitement for a new bike at Christmas. If only there were some way to remind them of that. It says a lot about the bicycle that it is held (or at least was) in such high regard by so many people that it was once the stuff of their dreams.
I wonder if kids today hold a bicycle to that same level of enthusiasm? Or do they now just wish for battery-powered, drivable little SUVs? New smart phones and video game systems? I wonder.
Whether you get a new bike for Christmas this year, or just wish for one while you lavish attention on the bike (or bikes) you have, I hope you have a Merry Christmas.
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| A Ghost of Christmas Past. |
Even for people who haven't ridden a bike since getting their first driver's license (however many years or decades may have passed since then) I think it's pretty significant that even many of them once experienced that kind of joy and excitement for a new bike at Christmas. If only there were some way to remind them of that. It says a lot about the bicycle that it is held (or at least was) in such high regard by so many people that it was once the stuff of their dreams.
I wonder if kids today hold a bicycle to that same level of enthusiasm? Or do they now just wish for battery-powered, drivable little SUVs? New smart phones and video game systems? I wonder.
Whether you get a new bike for Christmas this year, or just wish for one while you lavish attention on the bike (or bikes) you have, I hope you have a Merry Christmas.