A SUMMER MEMORY

One of my favorite summer memories is riding bikes with my brother. We lived in a small town in South Dakota and rode everywhere. These days, a couple of kids tootling up and down every street and dark alley is probably dangerous, but we never got nabbed. Either it was a simpler time, or our obnoxiousness guaranteed our safety from kidnappers. I’d like to think the reason I wasn’t snatched had more to do with the former.

Most days we rode to the library. Their summer reading program offered free Domino’s pizzas as incentive to read. Not a terrible reason to do what I was doing anyway. There was this really great hill on the way—terrible to pedal up, but epic to glide down. The wind blew my ponytail, and I didn’t have a care in the world. Until one day when my life was plunged into peril and my fear of large dogs took root.

Okay, that sounds a little melodramatic. Fair warning: I may take a tiny bit of creative license as I tell this story and add some sensory details to make this story worth reading.
Jared and I were riding to either the library or the book store. It doesn’t really matter which. As we passed a row of houses, a big, black dog darted from behind a fence, snapping and snarling. He quickly gained on me and no matter how hard I pedaled, I couldn’t seem to get away. The dog’s spindly legs gobbled up the distance between us and soon, he nipped at my heels. My uneventful life flashed before my eyes.

So, this is how it would end.

Where was my brother? Is that what you’re wondering? Well, let me tell you where he was. Jared was standing in the middle of the street, straddling his bicycle. Laughing at my terrified screams. The very nerve of that boy.

In a plot twist neither of us saw coming, the dog gave up chasing me, distracted by Jared’s laughter. His ears perked and he turned his hunger for destruction on my brother who scrambled onto his bike seat and pedaled away. The rest of that ride was a blur. I guess my mind blocks out scary things. But we made it home without dog bites and rabies. (After watching Old Yeller as a kid, I really thought hydrophobia would be a lot bigger problem that it has been.) Though the dog chase shook us up, it didn’t stop us from enjoying the summer weather and going out on our bikes the next day. But we made sure never to take the angry dog street again after that.

A.D. Lawrence