About a year and a half ago now, we got new neighbors. There
was concern that the fence between our yards that has been standing since 1960
was going to fall down at any moment. Being a good neighbor, I offered to re-build
it but was met with hesitation. The neighbor was concerned such a project was
beyond my reach. He wanted something better than wood. Something waterproof, something
that might last a little longer than half a century. Something I feared would not be mid-century-modern-cool.
I nodded, bid good bye and tended to other responsibilities.
Months passed. He asked me again as winter set in last year and I said we’d
discuss it in the spring.
About that same time, my buddy Seth wanted to borrow the
Thomas bike to put in the window of his high traffic Chiropractic Clinic for
the winter. I wasn't surprised then in the spring when he said he was going to
buy a Bullitt cargo bike to haul his two boys around. His older son is about
the same age as G and the two are thick as thieves. In fact, we often swapped
kids on adventure rides when they were 3 and 4. G liked riding on the tail of
his Surley Big Dummy, "because it felt like riding on a motorcycle".
Through the winter we
came up with various box design ideas. Finally we decided on building a
helicopter cockpit complete with a Gatling gun that shot water. In April I took
my rough sketches and Pinterest "Choppers" page to my dad's shop and
got busy building what I dubbed the, "Three Headed Monster." When I
floated the idea of the squirt gun, the old man off handedly recommend using a
windshield wiper motor since Seth was going to have an e-motor to get the boys
up their steep hill home.
As spring began to blossom, the neighbor caught me between
trips to Mr. Plywood and asked me again about the fence. I told him again I was
happy to build it and had some design ideas that would be rad. He again shared
concern for my ability to build a fence. I reminded him that I built the shed
he could see from behind our geriatric divider. He was not dissuaded from
concern. I then made it a personal challenge to find creative ways to park the
Thomas in front of his house, leave for rides while he was outside, or stop by
to say “hi” when we returned from rides with the Thomas bike. Mostly just to
remind him that a fence was not going to be a problem.
Building the 3-headed-monster went well. I tried a new
tactic of using foam core board from the Dollar store to cut out a rough
profile of the cargo box, but in the end, I think it just created more work.
Having a beer or two, squinting at the bike, looking at pictures on my phone,
then sketching a shape before cutting up a bunch of wood I think works just as
well. But the beer costs more than the foam core board.
Work started getting the better of me and the 3 Headed
Monster was taking up valuable space in my dad's shop. He took over on the
canopy, elevating the craftsmanship from my solid ability of a 6, to his standard
11. Seth's Bullitt arrived and the e-motor was being installed. Time was
ticking and spring was quickly becoming summer. Seth, the old man and I got
busy on the finish work and cranked out the sanding and paint work.
Portland being Portland, there was some minor public pushback
for making a weapon of death and destruction for innocent boys as a play thing.
Those comments gave me a better sense of accomplishment than even the guy in
his rusty Bronco that yelled, “That’s the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever
seen!” at us while riding the original boat bike. But the neighbor still wanted
a new fence.
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