Each Generation Has Its Dreams

It was the only thing he wanted in the whole world. He dreamed of it at night. He daydreamed about it in the daytime. He watched cyclists in races. He watched leisurely riders in the park. He wanted to be one of them.

It was like a mantra in his head, buying mountain bike, buying mountain bike. Where did he want to be? Riding a bike. What did he want to be doing? Buying a green mountain bike. He'd even wear a helmet although he hated the idea. He'd wear a green helmet to match his dream bike.

Some kids want skateboards. Other kids want roller skates or ice skates. Some aspire to skiing swiftly down a snow-covered slope. He wanted one thing and that was a mountain bike. It was summer and he had several lawn cutting jobs lined up. He'd make that dream come true. He could see himself flying through the park on his mountain bike.

His mom was at her desk when he came downstairs. She was leafing through a stack of cake decorating books and smiled as she looked up. They went into the kitchen and had cereal and orange juice together. She told him about a woman at work who bought a diamondback bike. She really thought it lived up to the fine reputation it had.

He talked about how much he had saved up for his own bike. They discussed all the gardening jobs he had lined up with neighbors. He had to go plant some flowers today for a lady who lived down the block. His mom said she knew of two more possibilities and both lived only two blocks away. He began to mentally count up the totals he would earn.

His mom had a full day of baking planned. Someone was having a big party and had ordered three cakes. One was chocolate and she planned to decorate it like a hot air balloon, very colorful. The second was a refreshing lemon creme cake with sand dunes and a few sea gulls flying overhead. The last one was a big sheet cake and would show palm trees and the ocean and a pale yellow beach. There were not many times she decorated three cakes for one party.

They talked about the day she could buy the new car she wanted. She was saving for it and had almost enough for the down payment. He would enjoy going with her to look at cars. She, in turn, would go out shopping with him on the day he was ready to look at diamondback bikes.