My First Bike

My older brother, Dennis, loved to build model cars and airplanes. He had them on strings hanging room his ceiling and on shelves all oer his bedroom. He had a friend, Guy, who loved Dennis's cars. So Dennis traded a few of his cars for a bike Guy had. It was for me.
I never had a bike before, I was only five years old. It was an old beat up blue boy's bicycle. The cross bar in the front had been welded on - which meant that it had been a girl's bike originally. There were no training wheels, either.
I remember my brother's running behind the bicycle while I rode around the yard. They held the back of the bike so I didn't fall over. Then came the moment when they thought I could go solo.
Our neighbor's driveway was long and straight. It was also dirt. My two brother's stood at the mouth of the driveway and helped me get going. Then they cheered me on. I rode straight and true all by myself to the cheers of my brothers.
It was wonderful until I realized that I didn't know how to stop. With the crossbar in the front, I couldn't just jump down off the seat. I crashed and burned near our neighbor's house. I remember my brother's running to get me and taking me and my wonderful bike back to our house to get mended.
I overheard my mom and brother's talking about my bike. Apparently someone in Guy's neighborhood had her blue bike stolen. Amazingly, the blue bike I got was right after the theft and the crossbar had recently been welded on. Hmmmmmmm. The only thing Guy wanted for that bike was a couple of Dennis's models. We were all left thinking that I had a 'hot' bike.
I don't remember having the bike when we moved from Battle Creek to Warren. But I will always my little blue bike.