mike
iMTB Hooligan
I’ve been thinking about something I wrote years ago and posted here:
Blue Bicycle 2019
The girl had so hoped for this day
The bicycle was shiny, wonderful and blue
Her father had given it to her
He was shrewd and miserly, but this time he opened up
It was a rare event
The girl was heartened by the gift and wasted no time getting to know her new friend
One day she awoke to discover the bicycle gone
Her father had taken the bike and sold it
Shortly after that, the father separated from the mother and left the family
Today the girl has her own bicycle--a white one. And a gray one. And a red one!
She can have any bike she wants, any color.
But these bikes all seem very blue
To us
Of course it’s a true story; it’s about an Afghan family. But the writing, today, nudges strikingly toward metaphor for the situation that average Afghans find themselves in.
While a long-term solution for Afghanistan seems difficult to fathom, the immediate priority is to evacuate as many of the most vulnerable as possible. It’s to that end that I humbly offer a way that we can support the MTB community, Afghans, and the freedoms that most of the world enjoys.
https://www.mtbafghanistan.org/
Thanks for considering the beauty of people who want only freedom. Freedom for all the people who want to to MTB (engage in any athletics/recreation), to learn, to excel – to pursue their dreams. They can seem far away from us in the US, but they are our neighbors.
Afghans are known for their penchant to accommodate strangers passing through with little. Show up in a village and the locals feed and house you for the night. It’s deeply ingrained in Afghan culture, and it’s a becoming trait that the rest of the world could emulate for the better.
A humble thanks. Back to talking smack…
Blue Bicycle 2019
The girl had so hoped for this day
The bicycle was shiny, wonderful and blue
Her father had given it to her
He was shrewd and miserly, but this time he opened up
It was a rare event
The girl was heartened by the gift and wasted no time getting to know her new friend
One day she awoke to discover the bicycle gone
Her father had taken the bike and sold it
Shortly after that, the father separated from the mother and left the family
Today the girl has her own bicycle--a white one. And a gray one. And a red one!
She can have any bike she wants, any color.
But these bikes all seem very blue
To us
Of course it’s a true story; it’s about an Afghan family. But the writing, today, nudges strikingly toward metaphor for the situation that average Afghans find themselves in.
While a long-term solution for Afghanistan seems difficult to fathom, the immediate priority is to evacuate as many of the most vulnerable as possible. It’s to that end that I humbly offer a way that we can support the MTB community, Afghans, and the freedoms that most of the world enjoys.
https://www.mtbafghanistan.org/
Thanks for considering the beauty of people who want only freedom. Freedom for all the people who want to to MTB (engage in any athletics/recreation), to learn, to excel – to pursue their dreams. They can seem far away from us in the US, but they are our neighbors.
Afghans are known for their penchant to accommodate strangers passing through with little. Show up in a village and the locals feed and house you for the night. It’s deeply ingrained in Afghan culture, and it’s a becoming trait that the rest of the world could emulate for the better.
A humble thanks. Back to talking smack…
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