giverdada
12-22-2011, 08:14 PM
working with today's youth is a terrible job for someone who wants instant gratification. a daily onslaught of social work problems, motivational problems, socio-economic problems, hygiene problems, learning problems, writing problems, reading problems, behavioural...these are easy to come by. needs are plentiful. requirements, endless. please is once in a million. thank you is like a white elephant on a blue moon at the end(s) of a double rainbow. never.
of course, 'thanks' has nothing to do with why we do this job.
so i spent last night building a bike. i spent a few days before that building a bike. today, i put the finishing touches on my buddy's bike, kindly watched as my (superior wrapper) lady friend made it all look good, and carried it outside for him. his first real dream machine. all ti and carbon and sexy as hell. his is a passoni. mine was a serotta. there's just nothing like that first 'big deal' bike. that first bit of ti.
i built the bikes because i can't help myself. the winter beater/early christmas present for my brother that challenged all of my mechanical skill in every way was an absolute pleasure (had nothing to do with several empty kilkenny cans either...). my hands still hurt. no amount of moisturizer will fix them any time soon. i still need to true the wheels. my buddy can't even pay me for the parts on his passoni 'til january. i was pressuring him to drop off the frame set. i built it up for him that night. i couldn't wait to watch him ride away on it, grinning ear to ear and a little scared at how fast he was about to go. sent them off. watched them smile. the world was a great place.
my first christmas in this country, my parents got the lot of us bikes. four department store bikes they certainly couldn't afford, that they must have pinched and saved for for a very long time. my dad got up with us and wrenched them in his stand, one after another, starting at 5:30 in the morning. at no point did he stop smiling. at no point did we feel like we were hassling him. everywhere was liquid joy. it was minus 20, and we went and rode them until it was time for brunch. bikes are happiness. and to gift one is immeasurable wonder.
so i built a couple bikes over the past few days. i've been slacking in the christmas prep, mostly because payday was today and everything before was scrimping, but today, to give things away that roll straight and make people smile, today was getting it right. it's not about thanks. it's about the process. but both guys said thanks, thanks SO much, and they meant it. all the thanks i needed was to watch them go. i love bikes.
of course, 'thanks' has nothing to do with why we do this job.
so i spent last night building a bike. i spent a few days before that building a bike. today, i put the finishing touches on my buddy's bike, kindly watched as my (superior wrapper) lady friend made it all look good, and carried it outside for him. his first real dream machine. all ti and carbon and sexy as hell. his is a passoni. mine was a serotta. there's just nothing like that first 'big deal' bike. that first bit of ti.
i built the bikes because i can't help myself. the winter beater/early christmas present for my brother that challenged all of my mechanical skill in every way was an absolute pleasure (had nothing to do with several empty kilkenny cans either...). my hands still hurt. no amount of moisturizer will fix them any time soon. i still need to true the wheels. my buddy can't even pay me for the parts on his passoni 'til january. i was pressuring him to drop off the frame set. i built it up for him that night. i couldn't wait to watch him ride away on it, grinning ear to ear and a little scared at how fast he was about to go. sent them off. watched them smile. the world was a great place.
my first christmas in this country, my parents got the lot of us bikes. four department store bikes they certainly couldn't afford, that they must have pinched and saved for for a very long time. my dad got up with us and wrenched them in his stand, one after another, starting at 5:30 in the morning. at no point did he stop smiling. at no point did we feel like we were hassling him. everywhere was liquid joy. it was minus 20, and we went and rode them until it was time for brunch. bikes are happiness. and to gift one is immeasurable wonder.
so i built a couple bikes over the past few days. i've been slacking in the christmas prep, mostly because payday was today and everything before was scrimping, but today, to give things away that roll straight and make people smile, today was getting it right. it's not about thanks. it's about the process. but both guys said thanks, thanks SO much, and they meant it. all the thanks i needed was to watch them go. i love bikes.