As the Wheels Turn (a non-Fiction Re-Write)

I saw the blue bike, looking to see if the owner was out. It was 6pm, and their garbage was at their driveway end. Blue was there. I looked at it, then at the house. Would they mind? I looked again. I looked a third time. Then…

It was a warm, Sunday afternoon in Elyria, Ohio. Elyria is a suburb approximately 40 minutes west of Downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It wasn’t hot enough for air conditioning but warm enough to be slightly above comfortable.

Our home is nestled in a residential area, just off Lake Avenue, which is near Route 113, Route 57, and the Ohio Turnpike. Our house address is 375 High Street, which is odd for the home. According to Rob, that’s my husband, the house address should correspond to where the front door faces. So, I have asked him, “Shouldn’t our address be Penfield Avenue?” To this, he has no reply.

Sundays in Elyria signifies garbage day; the day AND night residents in Elyria take their garbage to the road. So, all day we see the trucks clamor up and down our streets, looking for hidden treasures. In one truck, we find an old washer, a bent up children’s slide, and other metal items. We think he’ll be able to make a few bucks from the scrap metal. We know this must be a weekly ritual for him because we’ve watched him pass our house at least three times in 10 minutes. There seems to be an unspoken rule that if it’s at the road for garbage, anyone else can take said items for free. I’ve heard of amazing find in the garbage, from televisions, lawn mowers, furniture, antiques. You name it. I’ve just never taken anything from the garbage before. Rob has. The old lawn mower we’ve now had for the past seven years, but I digress. That’s another story.

Today is Sunday, which is also the day Cassi, that’s our daughter, comes home from Pa’s and Nana’s house. They live in Cleveland and have her over regularly. This weekend, she went Friday night until Sunday. As Cassi puts it, “I get 2 sleepovers.” This signifies she’s there two nights.

So, this is now Sunday. After Rob comes home from work in the morning, (you see, he’s a nurse), he goes to bed for the day. Because I am sick, I sit in my recliner and go back to sleep until 1:30 pm. I get up and realize I slept half the day away! I start by making a banana cream pie. While cooking, I invite mom and dad to dinner. I tell mom I’m making roast beef, potatoes, veggies, and bread. Why not come to dinner? They were bringing Cassi home anyway.

They got here, and we ate dinner. Just a typical dinner that was completely ready in three hours!

After dinner, I took mom to my Target. The store is right around the corner, and mom wanted to buy something for her bed. She was able to get it without having to make an additional stop on the way home.

But, mom drove.

On the return trip, mom took a different route to get to my house. Since our street is just off Lake Avenue, there are a number of different ways to get there. Instead of taking Bell Avenue to Penfield Avenue, we took Courtland Street to Penfield Avenue.

After turning onto Courtland, my eyes caught a glimpse of a blue bike in someone’s garbage. It was right on the right. We got home, and I immediately ran into the house, looking for Rob.

“Rob, where are you?” I asked.

“I’m in the bathroom,” is what I heard coming from a shut bathroom door.

“Well, hurry up. Someone’s got a bike in their garbage. It looks good!” I shouted at him.

And I couldn’t wait for him. The bike was right around the corner. I walked to it. I figured Rob would hurry and bring the car. Excitement filled the air at a prospect of a new bike for us. Now that Cassi can ride her own bike without training wheels, we both need bikes to ride with her.

I got to the end of my street and make ready to turn right onto Courtland. Here comes Cassi and dad, who have been taking a walk.

Cassi says, "Where’re you going?”

I tell them both there’s a bike down this street in the garbage. “I’m going to look at it,” I tell her.

They start to follow me. Half way to Blue, dad says he has to turn back for the house to go to the bathroom.

"I wanna stay with mommy,” Cassi insists.

“No, you go back with Pa. I have to go across the street,” I tell her.

“No!” is all she says as she stomps a foot, with putting her nose in the air, cross ing her arms, and shutting her eyes.

“I can stay right here,” she then says a little more calmly.

Now it’s my turn to give out orders, “Move it right now!” is all I have to say. She knows to move when she hears my “Drill Sergeant” tone of voice.

After being very mad, Cassi goes with Pa back to the house.

I was on a reconnaissance mission. I didn’t want anyone to yell at me as I took the bike from someone’s garbage. This was the first time taking something from someone’s garbage. I know other people do it, but I didn’t want to get yelled at.

I stand there, across the street, looking at it. From that distance, I want to make sure the bike is worth taking. The bike is turquoise blue and black. The tires appeared to be new. Blue looks like it is in excellent shape. Hesitating to make sure no one was out, I walked across the street. I place my hands on the handle bars…

I took it!

I pushed the bike home. As the wheels are turning, I look at the bike again. The tires looked new, and the bike relatively new overall. It just needed a seat!

Back at the corner of my street, Rob finally shows up. I think to myself, “He sure did take a long time in the bathroom.”

“Why didn’t you take the wagon?” he asks.

“Because it was easier to walk,” I say.

It was easier to walk. I didn’t want to gain added attention with the car, which is red.

We get the bike home and look it over again. It is a little dusty, and the tired are flat. Rob inflates the tires and takes it out for a quick test ride.

“Some screws need tightening, but otherwise looks good,” Rob says.

At this point, mom and dad go home.

"Wanna go out driving?” Rob asks.

“Sure,” I say.

We go out driving in our area, but don’t find anything else worth taking. While out, we go to our local Wal-Mart. We want to price the bike against others at the store and buy a new seat. The seat, which is the top-of-the-line model with gel inserts, is $19.98 plus sales tax. There are similar bikes at Wal-Mart priced as much as $159.95 plus sales tax. Our goal is two more bikes to ride with Cassi. We have saved $160 plus sales tax on one bike. We have spent $21 dollars for a bike seat.

Now. We just have to find one more bike! With the high prices of stuff these days, anything that can be gotten for almost free is a good deal.

We’ll roll the wheels again this weekend to see if we can find another bike to make three. Then, we can ride together as a family!