Hoo boy, I wanted one bike really bad. I mean, the neighbor kids all had bikes with the gooseneck and cool tassels coming out of the handle bars on each end...hoo boy, I wanted one bike jus' like dat !! And I wanted it bad....
But Daddy was giving me one of his lectures about "dem keeds no appreciate the stuffs they get for Christmas because they neva do nuttin' to deserve 'em...dey gettum' jus' becuz it's Christmas..." You see Daddy's logic was this: When you get something for nothing..you take it for granted...but if you work for it...you appreciate it much more.
And Daddy had done studies on this. He collected data on his thesis and would take me on the tour of the neighborhood to prove his point. We would cruise the neighborhood just after a big rain...he would slow down in front of a house with bikes strewn on the front lawn or driveway. The toys, bikes and assorted "implements of play" would be rusting in the rain. "You see dat, boy ?" he would say, "dem keeds no care...dey figgah dey going get new stuff at Christmas time...dey no appreciate what dey get..."
But hoo boy, I wanted one bike !! "Well,"'Daddy said, " you wanna a bike, eh..ok let's think about this..." Hoo boy...what now?? Daddy was scratching his chin...that was a sign he was formulating one scheme...
"You seen da bike you like?" he questioned me looking over the top of his reading glasses.
"Yeah, I seen 'em at Sears..down stairs by da automotive department.. by da escalatah... dey get all da bikes on racks and...and....." I was running all the words together....
"Ok ok ok...." Daddy said. "Now how much dey want for da bike?"
I told him. He was scratching his chin again.
"K'den..HERE'S WHAT WE GONNA DO, boy," he finally said..."when you rake the leaves by the mango tree after school you get two dollars..and when you take the rubbish out on rubbish day and make sure you put da brick on da cover so da neighbors damm dogs no get into da trash..you get two dollars...and when you...." Daddy listed all the chores I could do around the house and yard that would add up to exactly one half the price of the bike... "Now when you save up your half..Mommy and me going kick in da other half...and we go down get your bike." He stopped scratching his chin and gave me one hard look... "What you think, boy?"
My head was swimming with all the details of Daddy's deal...hmmmm...lesseee how long dis going take??? "Well, you jus' think 'bout it, boy...and let me know..." Daddy got up and gave me a pat on the head," you think 'bout it real good."
Man, the neighbor kids never have to go through this !! They just got stuff when Christmas time came. The more I thought about it...the more I was getting mad !! But then, it was either going be a kid that was "bike-with"
or
a kid that was "bike-LESS"...Hoo boy...
I had long learned about Santa Claus. I had learned the harsh realities when I was seven years old when I remembered seeing a bunch of different looking Santas downtown sitting in the shopping center taking pictures with kids, ringing the bell at the Salvation Army kettle for spare change, in the Christmas parade throwing candy to the kids....heeeey, I thought...dem guys all look different...and I wasn't going for da "Oh they are Santa's HELPERS !!" No way...something is wrong with dis picture...and den my friend Benny Nascimento broke it to me one day riding home on the school bus
"Stoopid," he said, "no such ting as Santa Claus...you nodono that?" "Huh?" I stared at him waiting for him to confirm my suspicion. "Ass only make-believe brah! Your muddah and fuddah da ones pretend it's Santa wen bring da toys..you sooo dense !!"
It was the confirmation I needed to put it all together...Of course, how could Santa make it all around my block, deliver all the toys, know what each kid wanted, and since we never have one chimney like in the books at school...he had to break into the house really quiet...I couldn't see Santa breaking and entering our house with our German Shepherd sleeping on the porch...ain't no way...he would get his okole chewed off before he even made it into the yard...
Soooo....it was Daddy who put the final nail in Santa..."Eh, you big boy now...Santa is for small keeds..." And now it was time to either cut fish or eat da bait...or something like that...I was going for it !!
It was Daddy's version of "Let's Make a Deal"....and I was going be the winner of one shiney new Schwinn bike !! I had leaves to rake, rubbish to take out..no forget the brick on da cover and weeds to pull on weekends.....
Then a couple days before Christmas came the time when Daddy and me lifted my bike out of the old Plymouth station wagon and into the garage...I flipped the kick stand down and let it stand by itself for a while.. I walked around it a couple of times, not believing my eyes...
It was sooooo coool !! Daddy was watching me smiling. "So boy," he said, "are you gonna take her out for a spin?" I was on it and down the drive way in a flash !! The wind in my face, the sound of the new tires whirrring away and the tassels fluttering in the breeze...Hoo man..life is good !!
That nite...I wiped down the tires and rims...took a towel and polished the chrome handle bars and frame...and rolled it into my bedroom. There was no way my "gift" was going to get left out in the rain or get dinged in the garage...not after all those months of raking leaves and stuff !! No way !
In the morning, next to the bike, were gifts wrapped in bright colors... a tool kit for the bike, one tire pump, one tire repair kit and a picture Daddy had taken of me from inside the house one afternoon as I was raking those damm leaves under the mango tree... on the back it said: "We are very proud of you, Son... Love, Daddy and Momma"
Daddy and me were "partners" in my first car, a '62 Volkswagen Bug. Although I couldn't drive it into my bedroom at nite...I treasured that "gift" too. Daddy's lesson in responsibility and appreciation was not lost on me. I learned the value of money and a work ethic that lasted into my adult life... And while sharing and giving was always a big part of our family life, it was Daddy's down to earth sound reasoning that kept me on track as I grew up.
My daughter wants a bike. It's Barbie Pink with white tires and a basket...we sat down in the parlor watching Poke Mon on TV and I scratched my chin..looked over the top of my glasses and said..."HERE'S WHAT WE GONNA DO, honey..." She rolled her eyes at me... and I contemplated showing her a faded picture of a kid raking leaves and taking her on a tour of the neighborhood after a rain.
About Author
Kamaka Brown was born and raised in Hawaii. Childhood years were spent in Waimea Valley on the North Shore of Oahu. Now a California resident he has not forgotten his Island roots. He writes and performs local style comedy at concerts and clubs around Southern California.
