The Bicycle

I never had my own bicycle. Family finances did not allow for more than one bike in the family. It was therefore decided one boy's bike was more practical for two boys in the home than a bike for just one girl. Do you think that stopped me? I discovered that by lining the bicycle up next to the porch edge, I could mount the seat quite easily. I could reach the pedal at its top position, give a push and catch the next pedal as it rose to the top of the circle. With that start, I was off.

The next problem was to stop and get off. Since I couldn't reach the ground, I had to find someone to catch me and turn me around. Mrs Donley in the house on the corner beyond the big barn was often in her garden, and with luck, she'd be there. I would start shouting as soon as I spotted her, "Catch me, Mrs. Donley--catch me!" I would ride directly toward her, and in self defense she'd grab my handlebars, turn the bike and head me back toward home. If she wasn't there, I kept riding, up the next street, around the watering trough, down the Fort road toward town, up Gilman street, around Pansy's house, and into our driveway to the front porch edge to get off.

I had the technique pretty well mastered, until one day I took a shortcut through Pansy's driveway, figuring I could also cut along the path beside her garage. I was fine until I nearly came to her little garden. Then I began to question--could I actually get through that path? "Yes?" "No?" "Yes?" "No?"
By the time I made up my mind, I was into the wire fence surrounding Pansy's green beans and face down in the once-neat rows. Pansy came out and picked me up, and seeing she was my piano teacher and a nice lady, all she said to me was, "Oh, Ella Ruth! What will you do next?"