Nowadays, we can laugh at this story. It could, however, have had a tragic ending.
Decades later, my husband and I, by then living in Canada, were surprised when our son, aged 18 or so, announced out of the blue that he intended buying a motorbike. I was less worried about this than was my husband. I knew that our son was a sensible lad, that he was mature beyond his years, and that, above all, he was his own master, living his own life. Having completed his schooling at 17, he had been working for some time part-time, then full-time, in high-tech. Despite winning a scholarship to pursue a degree in Aerospace, he had refused to go to university, telling us that he was “riding the crest of a technological wave” and that he was “not prepared to fall off, not even for six months”. His words are engraved in my memory. As a high school teacher, I was horrified that this intelligent young man was not going to pursue further studies. But I couldn’t do anything about it. Our son had made the choices he was bent on following. Having long since passed his car driving test, and earning enough money to be self-sufficient, he had leased a car, moved into an apartment downtown, and was already dating a girl he had met at high school and whom he would later marry. He was self-sufficient and no amount of persuasion from us, his parents, was going to make any difference. He was not going to university, and he was buying a motorbike!
A few years later, our younger son, who lived and worked in Los Angeles, announced that he, too, was buying a motorbike! Why?! He already had a car, and now he wanted a motorbike?! What about all those multi-laned, crazy-busy American highways? Even I was somewhat concerned, but my husband more so. After all, his family had never had a motorbike. As parents, of course, we had no say in the matter. Like his older brother, our son was a grown man, leading his own life and making his own decisions.
I am happy to say, and may it continue ever thus, that neither son has ever had an accident. They are both good riders, well-trained and very sensible. Our older son, married and with two teenage children, eventually sold his bike. I wonder sometimes what he will say when (and if) his son, presently learning to drive a car, announces one day that he wants to get a motorbike. Even though my son may accept his son’s choice, that might be when I start worrying. Am I being a hypocrite? Perhaps. Or maybe I am just older and wiser, a loving grandmother aware of the number of motorcyclists involved in accidents, which are often not the fault of the motorcyclists, and many of which are fatal. I realize that there is no point in my worrying about this, though. What will be, will be. I just hope that my grandson never decides to get a motorbike, in the end. After all, they can be so dangerous, can’t they?!
