On my Father’s day Drive to Think I picked up my ten year old son, Ezekiel ( dad ... Zeke or Z) just after writing the Berlin track report for the previous night. I had told him, “No Gifts”, but by the bag in his hand I could see it had done no good. Rotten kids never listen when you want them too (he knows I’m kidding); luckily the lessons will come back in later years. I know this because, to my twenty-two year old son Phillip ( dad ... Phil ), I got allot smarter then he ever thought I was, after he had one of his own. Go figure?
To my happy surprise, the bag contained no ties, after shave, golf tees, frying pans or other ‘useful’ gifts, but auto racing tee shirts and a ‘Racing Gear’ jacket made for rain or sundown / lights-up time on race nights. The forethought, on his part, to get me exactly what I’d love and need gave another hint that he would grow to be the type of young man to have empathy for the wants and needs of others. Meanwhile, he also has no problem being assertive about what he wants, as I’m sure most parents these days also deal with.
If you hang around race car drivers long enough the full meaning of assertive becomes clear. These men and women use very fast, very dangerous, highly technical, mechanical devices to assert their ... point of view. Where does that all start or come from as a kid?
Usually, as it was with all my older kids and now my ten year old again, ... riding a bike. It is one of the first and most important lessons from parents on overcoming fear, falling down and getting back up, using our muscles and mind to go faster, and new found freedom.
Where a kid takes it from there and to what extent, sometimes depends upon the family to which they were born, and sometimes on the kid and their dreams. Zeke’s energy and spark for this summer vacation reminded me that biking off with buddies around the park, through the woods or to the field is just the beginning of his asserting his right to freedom. I helped him do it by running with him while he learned, assuring him I was there if his brothers and sisters needed me when they learned, just as I would be for him now and forever. All kids do this, all kids fall, and all kids get back on after we take care of the wounds. No big deal to learn and you never forget how. Confidence was taught and the cycle continued.
After winning the Tradition 100 for the second time in a row the day before Father’s day and dedicating the wins to his Dad, Brian Campbell reminded me how far a taste of freedom can take a young person. It’s a fair bet he rode a bike before driving a car, but look at him now.
The old saying, “You’ve got to walk before you can run” should be followed by, “You’ve got to ride before you can drive”. Later, “You’ve got to drive before you can thrive”.
