DISCLAIMER: I am TOTALLY supposed to be writing something else\u2026three something else\u2019s right now\u2026but I\u2019ve had a day.<\/p>\n
About 20 minutes ago, I stood at the counter of my neighbourhood bike shop, watching Mark the masked (good for you, sir) bike tech peruse my fifteen year old tank of a bike.
\nA bike that, you might remember if you\u2019ve been following along, I bought with a large mason jar full of change during a time when I had less than no money.
\nShe\u2019s been running a bit rough this year and I started to have nightmares of her just collapsing underneath me as a worked like a dog to get up a hill.
\nNo one wants that to happen.
\nLeast of all, me.
\nSo, as Mark very thoughtfully looked her over he pointed out two broken spokes on the back tire (when did THAT happen?), a minor problem with the front tire and when I mentioned that the chain was being bothersome, he measured it with a tool that seemed like it might moonlight charting maps, clicked his teeth and recommended a new chain.
\nI mentioned that my old bike had not been tuned up in a couple of years, and he said with older bikes, you gotta keep on top of that.
\nThen, like he was a brother or at the very least a distant family member, I said, \u201cBut she\u2019s a good old bike, right? I don\u2019t need to put her out to pasture yet, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark looked philosophical for a moment\u2026which is no mean feat with a mask\u2026and said, \u201cHave you heard the story of Jason of Jason and the Argonauts and his boat?\u201d
\n\u201cI cannot say I have\u2026not that I can remember, anyhow.\u201d
\nHe ran his hand over the frame of my old bike and said, \u201cJason had to replace so many things on his boat during his adventures that he mused as to whether it was still the same boat at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
We both stood silent, regarding my aged and imperfect set of wheels\u2026and then he continued, \u201cThis frame with stay steady for almost ever, but everything else will have to be replaced over time. If you\u2019re fine with that, then I say let\u2019s fix her up.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could have cried.
\nLike\u2026fully snot bawled\u2026
\n\u2026And not just because of the synchronicity that I just happened to be carrying a book about Greek Myths (as told through the gaze of women) in the canvas bag that was hanging over my shoulder\u2026
\n\u2026And not just because I was having a truly strange, tired, hormonal, and weepy couple of days for a myriad of reasons\u2026
\n\u2026but mostly because Mark the stranger was so thoughtful in his consideration of the old tank of a bike I\u2019ve been carrying along with me through the last almost quarter of my life.<\/p>\n
If only I could have this kind of consideration for myself during strange, tired, hormonal and weepy days.<\/p>\n
He quoted me a price that would most assuredly buy me a new CANTIRE bike of some description\u2026but would it have this bell, or those fenders, or that side basket (that migrated from the bike I owned BEFORE this one), or that tail light or this kickstand?
\nI\u2019d spent a quarter of a lifetime making her safe and perfect.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it. Fix her up. Maybe\u2026maybe I will get a new bike next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled, I could tell by his eyes overtop of his mask.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr maybe this is just what she needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
She. Her.<\/p>\n
God bless Mark.<\/p>\n
With my book of Greek myths told from a female perspective nestled underneath a paper bag filled with three Craig\u2019s Cookies that I\u2019d bought to lighten my day in tow, I left my mighty steed behind for a bit of tender loving care.<\/p>\n
And part of my \u201cwhy does it seem like my life fucking too hard\u201d day felt a bit less so.<\/p>\n
What an extraordinary exchange.
\nWhat a perfect time to have it.<\/p>\n
Grudging gratitude abounds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DISCLAIMER: I am TOTALLY supposed to be writing something else\u2026three something else\u2019s right now\u2026but I\u2019ve had a day. About 20 minutes ago, I stood at the counter of my neighbourhood bike shop, watching Mark the masked (good for you, sir) bike tech peruse my fifteen year old tank of a bike. A bike that, you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sharronmatthews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5656"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sharronmatthews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sharronmatthews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sharronmatthews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sharronmatthews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5656"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.sharronmatthews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5836,"href":"http:\/\/www.sharronmatthews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5656\/revisions\/5836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sharronmatthews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sharronmatthews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sharronmatthews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}