Every 14-year old kid has the same problem. That problem is that our parents will say the same thing 125 times, or until our ears bleed, whichever comes first. The thing is that most times they are right. This has been true since men first learned to walk on two feet.

My dad has told me 125 times (at least!) not to leave my bike out. He always tells me to put it away or something will happen. But of course I never take it seriously, sure that nothing will happen. Well, one day, that something did happen. We were going away for the weekend and I left my bike in my yard, like always. I figured it was safe, like always. Except this time, when we got home we came to see, (or not see, as it turned out) that my bike was no longer where I left it, or in my possession.

My bike was stolen, and I just couldn’t believe it, even though I had been warned, clearly over 125 times. Out of
laziness, or just because we would rather believe that our stuff will always be OUR stuff, I left the bike out. Actually, I had heard of some other bikes being taken around the neighborhood and I should have been more
careful. Middle Village is the most wonderful Queens town to live in, but it does not mean I could tempt bad luck by leaving it out all weekend.

Basically, the moral of my story is: in this day and age nothing is safe, anywhere, anytime. And an even more important lesson: most times our parents are right, most times they do know better, some parents might actually
possess the ability to see the future. We should listen to them, or else we will have to learn to listen to them the hard way. And this one was a real hard lesson for me to have learned. My two feet took me through the rest of the fall, and with spring around the corner, I really miss my bike.