We watched the movie BIG over lunch today with our five-year-old twins. They watched probably 20% of the movie, but for me it was a reminder of what a well done, feel good movie that was. Tom Hanks was great. Plus I got to relive some of my 80's/90's youth again. There's a part where Tom Hanks, after he turns BIG, gets on his pre-teen dirt bike and goes looking for the Zoltar machine to get back to childhood. It was funny to watch, but for me it was the moment I really missed being a kid.
From 5th grade up until my license I rode my bike all over the place with friends, sometimes solo, sometimes with kids I really didn't like. Didn't matter. Something as simple as riding a bike was so satisfying as a kid because it was fun, but more importantly because it was independence. We'd make jumps with plywood and car tires, or mounds of dirt. Whatever money we had saved we'd go to the bike store that carried Fuji, Diamond Backs, and the other trick-style dirt bikes too buy accessories for our Kmart and Target bikes. Most of the time I got too anxious and bought the cheaper accessories from Kmart, which sucked, but I did it anyway. We would give our friend a "buck" which ment a ride. Learned how to ride "wheelies" and brake fast to skid with our rear tire. Or if someone was mad, or looking to fight a kid they'd hop off the bike at full speed and let it careen into anything. It was cool because it would ride itself for a while and then crash.
Today you're more likely to see kids with bikes on a trail helmeted up with their parents. Not the same level of independence. Or in the city you see a lot of bikes, but not necessarily kids. Adult bikers by the way suck way more then kid bikers do. Just my opinion. Whatever it is it seems we want to helmet our kids into everything. I think we need to let them careen sometimes so they don't get bottled up and REALLY careen when they get older. There once was a time when we just rode. Because we could, and was most likely our only means of transportation. There are those who embrace it to the next level of trail riding or racing. But, I'm thinking of it more as the "every kids" entitlement. Think of the Goonies when the kids ride to the coast to find the Fortelli hideout way of the one-eyed-willy map. The bike trip made it that much more special. I have a feeling if that movie was made today kids would be wearing the shoes with the wheel in the heel texting their every pointless move to whoever will read it... Don't even get me started on old phone conversations. I remember when we went from a cord to a hand-held back in 9th grade.
Oops. That's my iphone. Gotta go!
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