I recently found out that my bike wasn't as healthy as I thought she was. The name of my bike was, The Black Stallion. I had covered hundreds of miles with her and she was always faithful, until today. The Black Stallion was a cheap horse, costing only about $150. I depended on her to go almost anywhere: the mall, friends' houses, and even school. I never thought this day would come but my worst nightmare came true.
This week, I was riding with Juan and his fixed-gear bike (Jamba Juice) and I noticed that his bike is REALLY cool and it reignited a fire in my heart for fixies again. But I quickly remembered I had no job, which means I have no money, which means I can't buy a bike. I had been looking for a job for a while to no avail (I also have to admit that I have been pretty lethargic and passive about it.) I noticed that I really needed to have a fire set under my butt so I could find the energy to go out and look some more. I found that fire last night as my friend, Ricky, and I were coming back from Ralphs. I was just cruising on my bike when I noticed that Ricky was ahead of me. As my natural male instincts kicked in, I tried to get ahead by pedaling faster and as I did the chain of my bike came off. I quickly got off of my bike and attempted to put it back on. (I was already used to my chain falling off so I wasn't really worried.) My calm state would quickly change to one of sadness and confusion.
As I tried to reattach the loose chain back on to the gear I noticed that something had happened to the Black Stallion that hadn't happened before. Through closer observation I realized that the smallest gear had broken and had caused all the other gears to loosen so much that the chain wouldn't stay on.
At that moment I was devastated. It sounds like I am exaggerating, and maybe I am, but I started to think about all the things I couldn't do anymore. I began to miss her even though she was still right in front of me.
I went to sleep last night very quietly in honor of the Black Stallion.
The next day I had to go home and I was about five miles away from home with a broken bike and a new skateboard Ricky gave me to make my life a little easier. So as to make the most out this bike that would soon be trash, I put my right foot on the left pedal and I kicked and pushed with my left foot as if it were a skateboard. I did this for a while until I began to feel really tired and I so I started walking. When the thought that I would never make it home came to my mind, my mom called me and told me that she could pick me up. She told me to meet her at the corner of Sherman Way and Van Nuys at the gas station, Unlimited Oil. I knew I had to dump the bike in some big trash can so I looked around and I saw one in the Church on the Way.
I opened the trash lid, hoisted the Black Stallion up and over, then I took a picture to remember the moment. I almost cried right now as I remembered my faithful companion.
It turns out that this ordeal was enough to wake me. My parents had a talk with me about my future and they decided to intervene because they saw I needed help. They helped me set up a mission titled: Mission Buttkiss. I am supposed to go the woman that interviewed me at a certain location, and tell her that I didn't have the time to go over there but I wanted to give her a Christmas gift (a box of chocolates). The mission will be executed tomorrow at around 10 am. Hopefully, all goes well and she hires me so I can buy the Black Stallion 2. We'll see!
God bless you,
Erick Lima
p.s. Live Radically
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