(Contnued from page 2) University t. day that I began to enjoy my
 Swrite all this because of prize. My father was at work;
 not necessarilyfr nine and ten al the memories I haveof my mother was busy with her
 year olds. Of course she scoffed Christmas, my grandmother housework; my sister was play-
 at my most prized Christmas was always there. She loved us ing with her dolls and other
 present ever..... a brand new and -it was just. ajoy for her to useless junk. Now I could rde
 Megatron Transformer that be arond her fa mly. She gave the bike without everyone wit-
 tatgn time ando bfee ir ratefob f yearis aebu fag ii anred t
 you could etransformi from us museum g ifts and trged to nessing my enjoyment I rode
 a gun to a robot, but m both pass on-her years of wisdom. to my friend Herbert's house to
 modes it looked reaI tAt the I ne er got the chance to ex- show it off and engage in bike
 time I felt realy lucky to have w m I areate talk. I could leave it aside while
 a toy gun even if it was a we talked or played marbles,
 my G.randmother. She pansedf
Transformer because my father away a weeknbefore Chrstmas ore walked together pushing
didn't believe kids ol ht an 1999. She got sick very sud- our bikes to another friend's
toy guns. His theory(which as denly and I had j ist moved to hose.
fate would have it agree with ridan t t it secon d y rsh ca e the first






 SmaF tha Jag na oa lOrida and atthe last tseconda 1 hao d
now) wao that a gu is not a y at Christmas itwas impossible time I fell. lt wasn't until I had
and shoud never be thought of ito get up there to see her. You examned t bike to make
as one. If wanted to go to the n sseeo I love Christmastime and shee it wasn't scratched rpa
gun range and shoot real guns, somehow my grandmothero dented thtI felt the pa of a
that would be fine, as long as I pasingjust before Christmas scraped knee Soon, souvenirs
did it the right way and acted is a constant reminder that of Similar accidents began to
mature about i. I look back at emore than anythig, this time appear both on me an on the
that time and feel very grateful of yearis about famil and I bikeo t was at tir at pot that
for those lesons in maturity hope that all of you get to feae Ireally began toenjoy i feully;
Along with that lesson I was the knd of love that i can still when I no longerhad to worry
also learning a very important fe'el from a misunderstood Eu- about denting or scratching
lesson with my grandmoth- ropean woman. I leve y ou it.
er f hich was to respect my Grandma. Merry Christmas. .Seven years later, when I
elders(especially Grandma) weni off to college, I left the
and dont talk back. She wasn't indee m our garage By that time
an unpleasant woman, she was Jack Fernandez I had replaced ithe stand with
just misunderstd becse We had been in our new a kick stand and changed the
she was from a differente:ime house rnly two weeks, and I ten sprocket gear to a seven
and place. So I would listen to had nagged my father merc- ssprocket. Now I wouldn't- have
her andnod my head, but even lessly. Though he imssted I to pedal as fast. Of courses I
then I had a good enough head couldn't have none, I never let was pedaling harder, but that
on my shouldersto understand up :nagg g. didn't matter; the bike was
anything she ever said was Iwoke p beforeedawu that becoming more my own. When
out of love. Later i lfe I got Christmas morning, tiptoed the fenders began to rust, I
to know a lot more abou t my silentlyro erd m to do, I clmbed on te seat the beautiful bike stood lifeless took them off. That increased
Grandm s that I nevar futy f ving room, aere t, presents and pedaled foral I wasworth, on the sidewalk. How could I my speed, but there was a
appreciated what a wonder- waited patiently around the while the bike stood mmobile abando i Hadn't I yeamed? sprayed up on me whemnever
f1~woman she was. She: was tres and the tire place. Nothing :ono its stand, back wheel whir- suffered, pleaded, d reamed? spraye dP on me whenever
fulthe Executivwoman she was.r to the was tree and the tfire plooked anything ringlike a dynamo. Glorious Was it all for nothing? At any I rode through a puddle. Also
the Executive Serr etary to the under the tree looked anwithdisap-g By this time everyone else had moment I expected someone to I had to listen to my mother
ing World War 1 and she and pointmenta sneaked wback to turned to the deicieous plea- say, "Did you want the bicycle through subsequent years say
ingher husband were an e av n pn my room and fel asleep, sures of opening gifts. I must to park it on the sidewalk? Are that the first thing I did to the
Belgian resistrhsb andw e agactiveinst the When my sister finally woe have received other gifts, but I you tired of it already?" But bike was remove the fenders.
Nazis. She went on to raisE a me, I walked into the livin g don't remember them; they did they all talked about other and everything that made it
family Shere in ne Statese and room rubbing my eys and not count. The bike was the things. After a few minutes I pretty. As I grew, the bike
family here iG the States and room rubbing my eyes and ononchalantly meandered to the evolved aa little boy's si
worked at the United Nations couldn't believe the sight. The only 0bject in my life at that nonchalantly meandered to the evolved froma litle boy's bike
for the Belgian Consulate. She shiny, new, red, two-wheeler moment, and that moment has bike and wiped the fenders and to that of a teenager to that of
lost her husband in the early with white-wall balloon tires become a solid monument in frame with a clean rag. When a college student.
1980s but made an effort to and a back stand stood majes- my memory. had finished, kicked uP the During my freshman year
go on helping othe people tically in the dining room like After breakfast I circled the stand, pushed it out into the I brought my bike to the uni_
In retirement she volunteered a radiant mirage. Twice I had block-a few times, then'parked sidewalk, and got on. Iroda vrsity. Alm0st no ana hada
her time at the Jane Voorhees walked past it ijust two hours it on the sidewalk and sat on around the block a.few more car. Under the Honor System.
Zimmerli Museum at Rutgers earlier! Not knowing what else the front porch with my family, times, and then parked it again at the University of Florida, if
 feeling strangely useless and and went into the house. you needed a bike and couldn't
 ungrateful sitting there while It wasn't until the next (Continued on page 4)

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 Friday, December 22, 2006/Page 3 Section B