t was bright, clear Sunday afternoon in early fall in Lynbrook, New York.
Zack, age 32, his wife, Faye, no age given, and their three children, Heather,
Donny, and Andrea, ages 9, 7, and 5, were in the Lynbrook Bicycle Shop. Zack
looked like a normal young working father. He was six feet tall, starting on a belly,
but still healthy, maybe a little tired around the edges. Faye, a working mother, was
blonde, pretty, watched her figure, and appeared a little more tired around the edges
than her husband. The kids were assorted shapes and sizes, bright, energetic, and
imaginative, with no serious neurosis yet. The children wandered around the store
while Zack and Faye were at the front counter, buying a new inner tube for
Donny's bike. It was a routine trip.Routine, that is, until Donny saw it.
"Wow!" Donny exclaimed. "Heather look at this!"
Heather dragged Andrea over to see it, too. "Wow!" they both agreed.
Zack paid for the tube, and called out, "Kids! We're going!"
No kids reported for duty
"I hear voices coming from the back," Faye said, heading over. Zack followed. The
salesman, sensing fresh, new prey, followed close behind.
There it was, sitting on the floor, a brand new, shiny red go-kart. It was six feet
long, slung low to the ground, and extra wide to accommodate a driver and a
passenger sitting side-by-side. The gas pedal and break pedal were up front, the
engine in the rear, and the steering wheel about halfway between. Donny sat in the
driver's seat, playing with the steering wheel. His blue eyes were lit up and dancing
over the freckles on his clear cheeks. Heather sat next to him, acting like the little
mother, with Andrea in her lap. Heather had her long brown hair tied back in a
pony tail, her innocent brown eyes trained ahead, while her pug nose crinkled.
Andrea was a replica of Heather when she was four years younger, and both of
them looked like clones of their mother.
"Come on, kids," Faye said upon finding them.
Donny was oblivious, making engine noises, while steering around imaginary
curves. Heather and Andrea were passengers in the same fantasy - when Donny
leaned into a turn, then leaned along with him.
"Kids!" Faye repeated.
It was like she wasn't there.
"KIDS!" she shouted.
"What, Mom?" Donny asked, snapping out of his dream world.
"We're leaving," she ordered.
"OH MOM!" was the disappointed reply of the trio. Reluctantly, little Andrea
climbed out, followed by Heather, and then Donny. They moped toward the front
door, faces sullen and dreams crushed. As Faye opened the front door, her female
intuition antennae buzzed, "Someone is missing!" .
"Where's your father?" she asked, after counting her brood.
The kids looked at one another, and shrugged. Once again, Faye followed voices to
the rear of the store. Zack was there, sitting in the go-kart, while the salesman
explained the details of it's operation.
"Zack!" Faye called out. "What are you doing?"
"Honey, listen to this .... he's explaining about the engine. How many horsepower
did you say it has?"
"Five. And the Briggs & Stratton engine will last forever," was his grinning, toothy
reply. Donny climbed into the go kart and sat next to his father. Father looked over
at son, son looked over at Father, and they smiled at each other
"Zack!" Faye repeated.
"What, honey?" he said, putting his arm around his son.
"You're not actually thinking of buying one of those dangerous things, are you?"
The salesman's smile evaporated, along with Zack's and Donny's.
"It doesn't hurt to look," Zack answered, apologetically.
"Actually, ma'am, it's very safe," the salesman countered, displaying the grin and
teeth again. "It has a low center of gravity, special all terrain extra-grip tires, and a
wide and stable turning radius. It's practically impossible to turn over."
"Yeah, well, just out of curiosity, how much is this very safe toy?" she asked.
"It's on sale. 50% off."
"50% off!" Zack said, growing excited.
"50% off of what?" Faye asked.
"50% off our regular low price, naturally."
"And what is your regular low price?" she asked.
"A thousand dollars," the salesman mumbled.
"Case closed!" she said, helping Donny out of the go-kart, and then Zack.
The family, consisting of four dejected people and one dream-destroying mother,
left Lynbrook Bicycle Shop buying exactly one new bicycle tube.
That night, about fifteen minutes after he kissed his wife and turned the bedroom
lights off, Zack couldn't fall sleep. He gave up trying, and then invited Faye to join
him.
"Honey?" he said, shaking her gently.
"I'm sleeping."
"I need to talk."
"Can't it wait until morning? I'm really tired, Zack."
"No, it can't wait."
"Okay, as long as it isn't about the go-kart. I heard enough about that thing today to
last me a lifetime."
"No, it's about Sammy Barkas
"Who's Sammy Barkas?"
"One of the kids in my neighborhood when we were growing up."
"What's so special about Sammy Barkas?"
"His Dad. Sammy had the greatest Dad. All the kids in the neighborhood envied
Sammy because he and his Dad had so much fun together."
"What about your Dad?"
"My Dad ... all he did was work.... he didn't know how to have fun."
"So how did this Sammy and his Dad have fun?".
"They had a go-kart."
"No, Zack," she said, turning over and giving him her back.
"In those days," Zack continued, "you couldn't buy a go-kart, you had to make
one. Sammy's Dad welded the frame in the garage, found some tires, attached the
engine, and rigged up brakes and a throttle and a steering wheel. When it was done,
Sammy and his Dad took it out to the shopping center parking lot on weekends."
"No, Zack,"
"They would drive around the lot, making S turns and spinning out ..."
"Zack, I'm going back to sleep."
"Faye, you have to listen to me, because this is important," Zack said, turning on
the light.
Faye turned over and faced her husband.
"It's not just the go-kart. It's more than that. I want to share some fun with my
kids. My father never did that. I can't point to anything he ever did that was even
spontaneous, other than walk around the block in the pouring rain, without an
umbrella, after he had a big fight with my Mom."
Faye started giggling.
"I'm being serious," Zack insisted.
"I'm sorry, honey," she said, touching his cheek. "I just had this mental picture of
your father walking back into the house, dripping wet, after he cooled off."
"Faye," Zack continued. "I'm the same age as Sammy's Dad when they made their
go-kart. I can't point to anything, not one thing, I ever did with the kids that was
spontaneous and fun. I'm not going to be like my father, not in that respect."
"Zack, people get hurt in those things."
"Sammy never got hurt, and neither will we."
"Can't you find something else to have fun with."
"Like what? Name something that is as much fun as a go kart?"
"Monopoly? Leggos? Lincoln Logs?"
"Okay, now think like a kid and answer the question."
Faye tried, but couldn't think of a safer, yet still fun alternative.
"See, it has to be a go-kart," Zack concluded."I can't make one, so I want to buy
that go-kart we saw."
"Oh, Zack," she said, resignation in her voice."Promise me you'll be careful."
"I promise," Zack said, raising his hand in the Boy Scout salute.
The next day, after work, Zack marched into the Lynbrook Bicycle Shop, whipped
out his Master Charge card, and bought that brand new, shiny red go-kart for 50%
off. When he got it home, he took it out of the trunk and called the kids. The kids
came running out, and the look on their faces was worth everything to Zack. Faye
followed, shaking her head, but saying nothing.
"Let's go for a ride!" Donny suggested.
"After supper," Faye said.
"OH MOM!" the three protested.
"Come on, honey," Zack said. "We'll just go down the street and back." They lived
on a quiet, cul-de-sac street, so there was no danger of running into traffic.
Faye looked down at the three hopeful faces looking up at her. "Okay," she
relented.
Zack got the lawn mower gas can from the garage, and filled up the go-kart's tank.
He bent over, adjusted the choke, grabbed the pull cord, and yanked. Nothing
happened. He yanked again. Still nothing. A third time yielded the same results.
"What wrong, Dad?" Donny asked, worried.
"I don't know," Zack answered. He examined the carburetor, the gas line, the spark
plug. but couldn't find anything wrong.
"What's this?" little Andrea said, pointing to a button on the steering column.
"That's the emergency kill switch. Don't play with it."
"Why does it have tape on it?" Donny asked.
Zack examined the switch, and it did indeed have tape on it, holding the button
down. On the tape was a little printed message that said,"Remove before starting."
Zack removed it, went back to the pull cord, and yanked again.
The engine sprang to life and started chugging. The kids cheered while Zack
adjusted the choke. The engine warmed up and began running smoother.
Zack squeezed himself into the driver's seat, and said, "All right, who's first?"
"ME!" was the simultaneous reply of all three children.
Zack looked up at Faye. "Honey?" he asked.
Faye was about to protest, but there was something in Zack's excited look that
changed her mind. She took off her apron, climbed in next to her husband, and
away they went.
"Not so fast!" she shouted, her hair streaming back. Zack kept it at half throttle,
and Faye relaxed. They went to the end of the street and back three times, and then
they pulled up to the kids and Faye climbed out.
"I'm next!" all three kids shouted out together, pushing and shoving one another.
"Go in age order," their mother decided, ending the wrestling match. Heather
climbed in.
"Don't go fast, honey," Faye warned.
"Yes, dear," Zack promised.
Zack went up and back the allotted three times with Heather, at half throttle. She
loved it. When Zack headed back to his group of spectators, he almost hit Donny
who ran up to the go-kart, too excited to wait for it to stop. Heather climbed out,
Donny climbed in, and away they went.
"Faster Dad!" Donny shouted after the first turn.
"No, your mother doesn't want us to."
"Come on, Dad," he insisted.
Zack didn't need much encouragement. At half throttle, they went about 20 miles
per hour. It was a fun at that speed, but not thrilling. He pushed the gas pedal to
three-quarters throttle, and they both smiled a little wider. Zack jerked the steering
wheel one way, then another, to see the look on Donny's face. Each jerk, and the
accompanying pull of centrifugal force, was thrilling.
"Faster!" shouted Donny.
"Your wish is my command," Zack answered back.
Zack floored the go kart, and it was now going 35 miles per hour. Zack turned in,
and then out, and then in again sharply, and they got thrown one way, then the
other, like a roller coaster.
"Again!" shouted Donny.
Zack angled in and out little sharper, and the wheels came off the ground a little.
"Again!" shouted Donny.
Zack wanted to see how far he could push the machine. At the opposite end of the
street, he turned as sharp as the go kart could turn. The passenger side came
completely off the ground, and the go kart tipped over and laid on Zack's side, with
Donny's side pointing straight up in the air. The engine was still running, and the
rear wheel was spinning rapidly. Zack pushed the kill switch, and the engine turned
off.
Father and son were pinned there. Zack, still sitting in the go-kart, his side against
the ground, and Donny laying on top of Zack. They couldn't move.
Donny looked down at his father. His father looked up at Donny, and they started
laughing. They were still laughing when Faye, Heather and Andrea ran up, worried
and panic stricken. Faye and the girls pushed the go-kart back over, righting it.
"Are you hurt?" Faye asked, checking Donny's arms and legs.
Donny was laughing, shaking his head no.
"Honey?" she asked, checking Zack.
"Just a scratch on my arm," Zack said, still laughing, pointing to his torn shirt.
"Why are you two laughing?" Faye asked, puzzled and frustrated.
"Because that was FUN!" Zack said, laughing so hard tears came to his eyes.
It is now many years later. Donny is grown up and married and has kids of his
own. His Dad, Zack, has become my best friend and fishing buddy.
My son lives a few miles from our home, yet we only see him two or three times a
year. When he comes over, we have a difficult time communicating. Donny lives
four hours away, yet he and his family visit Zack and Faye at least once a month.
When they get together, they have a good time.
One day, when we were fishing, I asked Zack what he remembers most about his
son growing up. Without a moment's hesitation, he told me this story about the
go-kart crash.
You know, it's funny, the things you remember.
