Big Wheel Fun!

Today is the celebration of the birth of my dear brother, Craig (45 years). He and I have always been great friends. We were the kind of siblings who didn't mind if the other was visiting his or her bedroom. I loved playing with his army men and his Tonka trucks. He liked me to read to him--my favorite thing to do on a weekend morning, side-by-side while trying not to wake Mom and Dad up. We got along famously--almost all the time.

One of the activities we really liked engaging in on the weekends was riding bikes. I had a white-seated, handlebar-tasseled banana seat two-wheeler and he had a Big Wheel. Oh, how I loved his Big Wheel! We were not allowed to ride each other's bikes, though, so it was a rare occasion when I could take it for a spin. Craig rode the crap out of that thing! The middle of the wheels were white, they were so worn, and the big wheel had a hole in it. Sometimes, when Craig tried to take off quickly, the wheel couldn't grip and it would spin/slide on the sidewalk without moving the rider forward. The sun had faded the red plastic body to a dull rust color and the seat was missing--taken off long before because it was more cool to sit your butt way back and extend your legs to the pedals. There were times, when Mom wasn't looking, Craig would ride closer to the front and I would stand on the back of the seat and hold onto his shoulders as he drove. I remember, too, he used to "fix" his bike by flipping it over and paddling the pedals by hand like crazy, then letting go and watching how long the wheel would spin. The cool kids had a Big Wheel. I wasn't cool, but I'll tell you, Craig was! Heck, he still is!

Happy Birthday, (big) little bro! I love you fiercely! :)

~Mama