I TOLD him they were dangerous.
Have you ever had a child bug you about something to the point where you gave in because you were absolutely worn out and didn’t have the energy to argue further?
Welcome to the world of Denny Young and his Moped. He was just a lad of 14 when the discussion started. Actually, it was more of a filibuster than a discussion. He wanted a Moped and, if he had anything to say about it (and - trust me - he did), that was going to happen.
Denny, Mopeds are dangerous. Really dangerous. You can have a bad accident and get seriously injured or even end up dead. Your mother wouldn’t like that.
Don’t worry, Dad. I know that and I’ll be careful.
The rest, as they say, is history. Within a couple of days, he was part of a pack of kids riding their Mopeds all over Shaker Heights to participate in pick-up baseball games. It was a great summer. No accidents. On into the fall and riding to school, a jaunt of about 10 miles without any bike lanes. Never a hint of an accident. No calls from the police. Denny had proved his point. He was still well short of driving age, but he did have a license for his new toy. The Moped was as pristine as when it came from the dealer.
One day, Denny was standing in our driveway. His best friend - his Moped - was there, too. While it was turned on (in idle mode), the kickstand was engaged. I decided to climb aboard. No big deal. It was in idle mode. On I got.
After a couple of minutes I decided to goose it a bit. When I did, I also leaned back and - shall we say - accidentally engaged the rear tire with the driveway.
The result is that I hit the ground flat on my back while the Moped became airborne. I looked up as the Moped came down. It was going to fall one way or another. Would it tilt right and come down on me or would it tilt left and spare me?
Luck was on my side that day. It tilted left and crashed onto the driveway. That was that.
Yes, I caused the only accident that Moped ever had. I cut and banged up an elbow. Worse was the unseen injury to my pride. I humiliated myself in front of my son.
Today, when we reminisce about our time together in Moped history, Denny asks, How could you ever have let me have one of those? They’re dangerous. What kind of father were you anyway?
I have trouble answering that.
Next week’s blog will come out on Wednesday, not Tuesday. Tune in to find out why.
DY: In Just a Few Words is a blog that comes out when something needs to be said or every Tuesday - whichever comes first. Davis Young is a communications professional who adds 50+ years of experience and perspective to issues of the day. His emphasis in DY: In Just a Few Words will be humor (a touch of sarcasm here, a pinch of facetiousness there...). Once in a while, he will touch on something a bit more serious - but hopefully not too deep or depressing.
This blog is a product of DY Author & Speaker LLC. Feel free to quote content with attribution. Respond. Agree. Disagree. Share the content with your friends. Heck - even invite him as a speaker for your group! Enjoy!