What Any Three Year Old Can Tell You

So why am I waxing poetic about three year-olds on a site dedicated to motorcycles? After all, we're not BeginnerParents.com - we're BeginnerBikes.com! Well, yesterday I had a wonderful but sobering encounter with a three year-old boy who I met at the grocery store. I was surprised at how much the few minutes I interacted with him affected me so much. Let me tell you the story of an otherwise mundane trip to the grocery store.

Mundane trip to the grocery store? How could it be mundane when I rode my motorcycle there? So, let me rephrase that sentence - let me tell you about the wonderful trip to the grocery store. After all, I rode my motorcycle! Those of you that have read my posts know that I'm an avid motorcyclist. Any excuse to hop on the bike and go for a ride is good enough, and most times I don't even need an excuse, I just hop on the bike and go. Don't ask me if I'd rather take the car or the motorcycle; it's not even a choice. I love riding and ride every chance I get.

Anyway, I stopped at Safeway to pick up a few things for dinner. I'd made my purchases and was walking to my motorcycle when I met this three-year old boy and his mom who were leaving the store at the same time. As his mom loaded groceries into the back seat, the boy sat in the grocery cart "helping" to pick leaves off the car. She told him that he was a great help and what a good job he was doing. Then, I walked past to get to my motorcycle parked beside their car.

Now, I don't blend in very well when I'm on my motorcycle. I wear a full, black and purple Aerostich suit, over which I wear a blaze orange safety vest. I've adorned my white, full-face helmet with two helmet halos (silver and lime-yellow) and top it all off with a pair of fuzzy Dalmatian ears suction-cupped to the top! To say that I get a lot of looks is a bit of an understatement. Reactions run the gamut from shock to laughter, but this kid was excited as he looked from me to my motorcycle. With a big smile on his face, he pointed at me and started exclaiming to his mom about the motorcycle he just discovered parked in the space next to them! He clearly loved motorcycles, was thrilled by them, and thought that they were totally cool.

I waved and said "hi" to him, and he waved back. Next, he told his mom about waving to the motorcyclist. I had to chuckle inside my helmet as his mom finished loading the groceries and listened to his running commentary. As I finished putting on my helmet and gloves, she lifted the boy out of the cart and walked around the near side of the car and put him in the back seat. Getting closer to the cool motorcycle only increased his verbal output and excited hand gestures. In fact, his mom found it hard to get him buckled into his child seat.

I felt great as I threw a leg over the motorcycle, and that's when everything changed All of a sudden the pointing and yammering stopped and both hands went up, as the boy desperately clasped his ears. This kid was no dummy. Clearly he'd been around motorcycles before and he knew what was about to happen. I'm going to start the motorcycle and this little boy has his hands tight over his ears because he knew what was coming! My heart fell.

I ride a Honda GoldWing touring bike. Any of you that are familiar with 'Wings can attest that they are some of the quietest motorcycles ever made. And, to boot, it's not popular to give these bikes loud pipes. My bike is whisper quiet, just the way I like it! However, you'd never guess that based on this kid's reaction as I threw a leg over the bike! His mom cringed as I started the bike, but I assured her that my bike didn't make lots of noise and that she had a great kid. She turned to her child with a smile and a sigh of relief and told him that it was OK--this bike was a nice bike and didn't make lots of noise. Hesitantly, he took his hands down and I waved to him and he waved back. I felt better again as I backed out of the parking spot while his mom finished putting his seatbelt on. As I snicked down into first gear to take off, up went the hands back over the ears. This kid knew what happens when a motorcycle takes off! He was trying to protect himself from the onslaught that he knew from experience was coming. What could I do? I waved again as I rode off, but his hands didn't come down until after I was out of sight. My heart was heavy and I rode home saddened, sobered, and a bit angry.

Every motorcyclist out there... every time we ride... every ride--you are an emissary of the sport, whether you realize it or not. Three year-olds see the world without prejudice and respond with honesty. You can learn a lot if you listen to a three year-old. There's a lesson in this story, and most of you have probably figured it out by now. If you haven't heard the lesson by now, chances are you won't, no matter how loud I say it.