My Fearless Streak

We have always been an adventurous family.  People are always struck dumb when they find out I had a motorcycle license at sixteen.  I have had a fearless streak since I was small.

I think I get it from my parents. My dad did many crazy things when he was young and he can tell those stories better than me. He had six brothers and three sisters, so you can imagine. Mom tells me of a time she rode on the back of her cousins motorcycle when she was in her teens and he did over 80 miles per hour with her hanging on. She said it was exhilarating and one of her favorite memories.

When they were first married, they had a little TR-3 convertible sports car that they pulled a boat behind.  On weekends they would go skiing or head to Daytona Beach where they honeymooned.  

Mom and Dad were in a flying club and one of my earliest flying memories was sitting in the back of a plane and looking up and out the window at the blue sky.  

I was a stunt person on my bicycle, standing on the seat and handle bars.  I wrecked tons of bicycles.  My dad was always having to rewrap the curved handles where my brakes were on my ten speed.  We could take our bikes to camp, and one year I came home with my rubber tire hanging off because I slid sideways down a pine needle hill. One time riding my bike to school, I hit a hole, my lunch box flew out, I ran over it, and somehow flipped over my handlebars and landed in the grass.  I remember a car stopping to see if I was okay.  I was, just humiliated.  

Leslie and I rode our bikes everywhere.  School, to the grocery, library, to the pool, wherever with friends. DH flips out when he realizes how much and how far we rode our bikes. We always felt extremely safe in Peachtree City with all the bike paths. I also had a skateboard that I road mostly sitting down on because the hills around us were EXTREMELY steep.  These same steep hills we could sled down in snow, cross major roads (praying no one was coming) and keep on going until you hit the golf course and still keep going down.  It was a really long walk back up those hills to start again, but so much fun!

One Sunday morning before church, in my dress, I got at least 7-9 wasp stings on my arm at one time for climbing up on our metal swing set so I could yell through the tube/tunnel up top.  Les and I used to have conversations through it. Some wasps had taken up residence at this time. Mom said I screamed so loud that she knows all our neighbors had to have heard. I still had to go to church wrapped up in meat tenderizer.

I'm not sure how old we were when mom and dad got motorcycles.  I was behind mom and Les rode behind Dad.  We would take rides that lasted for hours on the back roads.  My rear would be so numb, but it was so much fun!  

So finally when I was too big to ride behind mom, they decided to teach me how to drive moms smaller one.  I rode around and around and around the house.  Les and I were already pros at driving the lawn mower when it was running (and when it wasn't, Les can tell you THAT story). Finally, when I turned sixteen, my parents let me get a license.  They probably knew that a motorcycle was much easier to push out of the driveway and start than the car was.  At least I would be legal. 

I am so thankful for those times and thankful I can tell Savannah about them.  She is a brave little soul too.  (She para-sailed at six tandem with me and DH)  I think she would do more if her daddy let her.  When I was sick and wasn't sure after the 2nd and 3rd time the cancer came back that I would make it much longer, I have been SO thankful for the life I have had with my loved ones and the fun LIVING without fear!

I can't wait for my next adventure!