“Two hours after new kids arrive they have forgotten everything their mother ever told them about - well - almost everything.” he says. Ken is a custodian in a student housing facility near the river. He’s seen the devastation and fixed it.
He’s ridden his fat tire bike 5 minutes to work and back for over four years.
Riding gets tough at about three inches of snow he says. He’s geared up for it.
He lives in Riverwest with his bride - new since August last. A week into the honeymoon she broke her right ankle. She was off work for a month and a half. And now the car needs brakes. Or, has needed brakes for quite awhile. They are riding on metal and stopping on the squeal. And now he has to take a day off work to bring their one car in to the shop.
So many of us use of off-work time, our real life, to get the chores done. Often I ask how wonderful it would be to have an occasional day off with nothing to do but what you choose. (You know, the way they do in Europe?)
Deciding to own only one car was a bit of a stretch for a number of months especially when his mother was declining on the south side of town.
And although the bills are mounting up he seems to have a balanced attitude. Life in Riverwest is wonderful - almost everything within walking distance and great neighbors.
He has a particular shine to him when he mentions the Fat Tire Birkie and Bar Hop. Ken likes his bike.
What I like about this story is that, even though there’s so little story here ... for you and me ... it’s Ken’s story. That’s the way he tells it. And we all have a story or two especially when someone’s listening.
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