| “Lets check the rope swing and then we can head to the steps.” Brian said and then he kicked his bike back to life once again. Jake and the other boys reached to turn on their keys and then they kicked their bikes to life as well. Brian kicked up some gravel as he took off toward the rope swing. The others followed, everyone being careful to not kick up any more dust than was necessary. When on a gravel road that has been existing a long time without seeing regular care, it is a considerable difference how much dust is made. A careful bike rider can make almost no dust by having sharp eye on the road and avoiding the spots heavy with dust. Just try to ride over the parts of the road that look like they don’t have as much dust or gravel on them. The ride down to the rope swing was a bumpy one because you had to cross over the railroad tracks. First you had to ride down an eroded dirt path to reach the tracks. Those tracks are probably six inches of steel to get your bike tires over. It proves to be a bigger task than what some might expect. Then as soon as you get your front tire over that first rail, you run into the second rail. It takes a bit of a trick to get your bike over both rails. When things go bad your back tire will not climb over the steel rail. Instead it just slides down the steel rail but does not climb over it. The situation can be an adrenaline-creator. When you are trying to get your bike over the rails and suddenly you hear a train coming. It is a jolt of adrenaline and you are faced with having one last try before you have to abandon your bike and let the train have it. You had better be smart enough to know which direction to run and which side to exit the bike too. If the train gets too close and you make the wrong choice, it results in getting taken out by your own bike. If it happens to be thrown off the tracks toward the side you chose. Denny was the one most at risk of such an instance happening. He wasn’t very strong, and his bike was too much for him to handle when it wasn’t stuck on a railroad track with a train coming. The rest of the guys tried to keep an eye out for him getting stuck because he wasn’t pulling that bike off the tracks without help. The morning they first went searching for the Northers to retaliate it wasn’t a factor. Brian led the way down to the river’s edge and upon seeing there were no enemy, took them onward to the steps. The “Steps” were what was left of a building located in downtown Staywell, just a short block from where the railroad tracks were located. The steps had long been overgrown with trees that now provided great shade for anybody who wanted to go sit on the steps and do their partying there. Brian pulled his bike up to the curb and backed it into a parking space. The rest of the boys did likewise. They all sat on their bikes which were provided shade by the trees. It was a nice break from the summer sun which was almost directly overhead now, announcing it was full-on lunch time. “I’m getting hungry.” Jake said. “I could eat.” Denny added. “I don’t remember the last time either one of you passed on a meal.” Cory said laughing. “All I have to do is stay one pound under your weight and I am safe.” Jake noted. Both boys had taken up wrestling. Cory was just big. He had more muscle and that weighs more than fat. Jake on the other hand was more fat, so even though he looked fatter, it was Cory who weighed more. They had discovered that both of them were in the weight category of ‘plus’ which meant they were in the heaviest category. Which took anybody who was over the weight of a certain amount. Therefore when it came down to who was wrestling in the plus category, it could be a guy who outweighed you by a hundred pounds. The heaviest in the heavy category, had to wrestle the heaviest from the opposing team. They learned all that during a meet where the other team had a guy that was mega-huge. When all the math was done the officials decided it was Cory who had to wrestle the behemoth. He was probably outweighed by a hundred pounds. In the end Cory was the winner but he had to go the whole fight being extra careful not to let the other guy fall on top of him because he would never have been strong enough to get him off. Jake sat on the sideline thanking the creator that it wasn’t him out there. “Eat up. We both know I can afford the calories more than you.” Cory said. “Lucky for me I have been losing weight. Sorry sir, headed in the other direction.” Jake replied. It was true. He had lost about fifteen pounds and was making a conscious effort. “Lucky for me, I’m not on any such diet.” Denny jumped in. It was true. The only reason he wasn’t in the running for heaviest was because he was almost six inches shorter than Cory and was probably four or five inches shorter than Jake. The guy had all the odds against him. Short, round body, and an appetite to match that of a stray dog. The other guys were long time friends, most knowing each other since kindergarten. Denny had shown up in the last year or so. He had been accepted into the group because he had a motorcycle and lived not far from Cory. There were often times when his views were on the other side of the creek but they let him hang around anyway. “Yeah your brimming with luck.” Brian said. “Well no matter what else can be said about you; your mom looks great in a halter top.” That got a laugh from everybody but Denny. The fact was, she did look good in a halter top. A fact not lost on anybody and it was obvious it bothered him. Boys entering puberty noticed anything female. Cory came to the rescue. Sorta. “She looks good in lots of things. You should see her when she visits me after Denny goes to sleep. You know what she does?” He didn’t wait for anybody to answer. “She lets me ride your bike while you’re asleep. She even pays for the gas.” More laughter. It was well-known that Denny didn’t let anybody ride his motorcycle. It might not have been brand new when he got it, like Jake enjoyed, but it was a bigger, faster bike that was street-legal or a dirt bike, they called it an Enduro. It had lights, turn signals, all that stuff. Non of the other Southers had those things on their bikes. As such, the guys wanted to try out his bike when he first started hanging around. He almost didn’t get to stay because he said no. It was Brian who came to his aid. |  The day that the other guys were saying to send Denny packing if he didn’t want to share, Brian stepped up and said, “You guys remember Darwin? The old man who owned the mower shop here in town a few years ago. Some of you might not remember but I bet Jake does.” “Yeah I remember. That’s why you didn’t hear me complaining when Denny didn’t want to let anybody ride his bike.” “What was it old Darwin used to say?” Brian asked. Jake sighed. He’d heard it so many times it was ingrained. “He said, don’t ever loan out your chain saw, or in this case your motorcycle because its way more important than the chainsaw, … he would say don’t ever loan it out because it is just like your wife.” Jake paused for effect, something he had picked up from Darwin, “If you loan her out she will never come back the same.” Laughter. “Denny, you gonna not loan out your wife either?” Cory asked. “Maybe to a state, or a country. If something that big needed her, then maybe I would, But not to the likes of you. I wouldn’t loan you my dog.” “Why Denny? Would you be afraid it wouldn’t come back the same?” “I’d be afraid you’d eat it.” “What is the recipe for dog, Denny?” Cory said through a held-back laugh. Denny couldn’t come up with a reply. “You guys remember that movie where the family was wondering where their dog had went? All through the movie they kept looking for it. Then towards the end, they are out in their backyard and next door is a native, headhunter-looking dude, and he’s turning something that he is barbequing over a fire. The headhunter guy looks up at them and says, “Next time you get bigger dog.” “I hate that joke but it makes me laugh every time.” Jake admitted. “I know its not PC, but come on? A guy who comes from a country known for eating dogs, looks up from his grill and says, next time you get bigger dog. Man that’s classic. Of course, it won’t go over well with the people who don’t get caricatures or shows like the Bundys. When did people lose their sense of humor? It is funny when you see the six foot tall mouse call out, ‘here kitty, kitty’.” “Its not the same.” Denny argued. “I disagree.” Jake shot back. “Both are a poke at situations which are ridiculous. One makes fun of the people who are too sensitive while the other makes fun of the ridiculous. To me, both are the same. Ridiculous is what I would call people who are offended by the joke about eating the dog because they can’t lighten up. No dog was actually eaten. Are these same people upset when Tom and Jerry do battle? The poor pitiful mistreated cartoon characters that don’t exist. Awww.” “The one is a racist joke because it makes fun of the people who come from a country that eat dogs.” Denny pointed out. “What part about it is offensive if it is a true statement?” Brian asked, truly interested in hearing the answer because Denny was digging a hole. His last sentence put a shovel in both hands. “Because its not the headhunter’s fault he comes from a place where they eat dogs.” “Denny. Its not anybody else’s fault either. Stating a fact doesn’t make someone racist. What is racist is the people who hear the joke that automatically go to the fact based on how the headhunter looks. If you don’t hold it against him for doing what he grew up seeing done, THEN you are not racist. or that’s how I see it anyway.” Brian said. “in any case we should get going. John said,” He was referring to his older brother, who was a year older and in the same grade as the Northers. “The Northers are planning on heading out to the rope swing early in the day and then they are suppose to all head over to Phil’s place for some kind of celebration.” Next Page |