Nostalgia

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The other day my friend @wesphilbin put up a wonderful #thoughtfuldailypost (all his posts are wonderful, but this one really hit home for me). It be listened to here: https://steemit.com/appics/@wesphilbin/alpha-kw-8-appics-im-28637.

He really got me feeling nostalgic. The 'better time,' for me, was what seems like an eternity ago back in Calgary.

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I had a particularly lonesome childhood. This isn't a complaint, just a fact. My parents divorced before I can remember, there was no family nearby (it was at least a two day drive to get to the nearest cousin), and I never had more than a couple of friends. For the most part I was on my own. This was back in the day when kids could leave for the day and come back for supper. There was a river near home with a bridge to get the park on the other side (the Trans Canada Highway, in fact). We'd spend afternoons in the park, under the bridge, skipping stones and doing what young boys do. Not far beyond the park was a Dairy Queen. A Dairy Queen! And an arcade. That was fun.

When my couple of friends go to the age to play sports they did. I did not. I was simply not an athlete - skinny little white boy that I was - so I ended up a little more on my own. I'd make up my own solo games in the park. And then I got a bike! As @wesphilbin points out in his post, a bike is like absolute freedom. And it really was.

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Calgary is built around the confluence of two rivers - the Bow River and the Elbow River. This is important only insomuch as the city has built bike paths along both shores of both rivers which snake throughout all the city. I could literally ride my bike from one end of the city to the other. And I did! I'd ride my bike to the zoo in the morning, about 10 miles away, and back again in the afternoon (stopping at Tim Horton's on the way! Very strategically placed on the bike path). Occasionally one of my buddies would go with me and we'd explore the city on our bikes - we'd go downtown, or one of the other parks and ride all over.

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(Google Map)
(My approximate bike ride to the zoo)

My family was all sort of messed up, and I ended up moving out on my own at 17 to go to college. Still had my bike; it was my primary transport to work and to school. Kept me skinny! When I finally got a car I'd drive to see parts of the city and province I hadn't seen yet.

We're all the sum of our past, and I suppose this leaves me a lot of where I am today. I still ride my bike all over, and I still like to road trip for no other reason that to go somewhere new.

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(My bike on an adventure with me, exploring an abandoned house)

I like to bring the boys along when they're willing - sometimes they are - but mostly they like to be in the house, so I still end up on my own a lot. I hope that one day they end up with a positive feeling of nostalgia as well, though theirs will probably be around how they pooled their mental resources to beat a video game.

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(c) All images and photographs, unless otherwise specified, are created and owned by me.

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Hi wwwiebe,

This post has been upvoted by the Curie community curation project and associated vote trail as exceptional content (human curated and reviewed). Have a great day :)

Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.

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such lovely nice photos. especially those with your kids. and i love how you related your biking to what happened in your past, and that makes me oh yeah maybe that's right . thanks for sharing this blog to us

Your post has been recommended by @njjasim77 for my up-gage challenge

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It's good to hear that you found your 'companion'. Biking is such a great sport. It's not too difficult, you get amazing views, you are flexible and you train. It's a great way of transport. I'm sorry to hear that you didn't have many people going with you but I believe that time on your own is also important. Unless you feel lonely of course.

I love the last photo. Your boys look like the best buddies. It's great to see that they have such a good relationship.

Thank you for sharing and have a lovely day!

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Thank you @delishtreats! I agree with you about cycling; it's not only fun it's incredibly efficient.

They are really good buddies! Except, of course, when they're arguing with each other! lol

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Such a wonderful Thoughtful Post, I to like you grew up when kids could leave early morning and do there own thing just had to be back by Supper ad once i got a bike I was all over the place and even thought I did lay team sports other than sport I to liked getting out on my bike on my own for the most part

Thanks for this great post and being an active member of @steemusa !tip

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Thanks for the kind words @tattoodjay! The bicycle may be one of the best inventions ever.

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YEs i do think so your post got me thinking about buying. Bike depending on the area where i move to whenI retire

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@wwwiebe,

This was very close to home... I grew up as an only child, no Dad... just my Mom and I... Not many friends, definitely NOT into sports lol...

We're all the sum of our past, and I suppose this leaves me a lot of where I am today. I still ride my bike all over, and I still like to road trip for no other reason that to go somewhere new.

This...

... got me man. This is a wonderful post... beautiful photos, meaningful and heartfelt message... This is the main reason that I love the Band Rush... much like the "soundtrack of my life"... especially the song "Subdivisions"...

Anyway... I thank you for supporting my #thoughtfuldailypost post, and I also was honored to share this on the #pypt at #TheRamble with @shadowspub!!

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Thanks @wesphilbin! I enjoyed listening to you present it. Maybe next time I'll get my audio working correctly!

I'm glad you enjoyed the post. You really have given me something to think about in a positive way.

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!SHADE 2
Thanks for sharing on Pimp Your Post Thursday

Going to credit you with 2 SHADE for trying. hopefully it will work better for you next time.

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!SHADE 2
Thanks for sharing on Pimp Your Post Thursday

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Hello!

This post has been manually curated, resteemed
and gifted with some virtually delicious cake
from the @helpiecake curation team!

Much love to you from all of us at @helpie!
Keep up the great work!


helpiecake

Manually curated by @wesphilbin.

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Thank you for participating in #thoughtfuldailypost & PYPT and sharing this delightful story and the lovely photos! This was certainly a bright spot in our day this morning! 😊

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Thank you very much! I certainly enjoyed writing it, and really enjoyed listening in to PYPT. Hopefully I can get my audio fixed for next time!

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!SHADE 1
Thanks for engaging with posts presented on PYPT

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That lovely @wesphilbin ! I really admire him!
Reading through your post @wwwiebe ...
Specially that black and white photo in the beginning...
The title describes everything! And you just hit my brain on nostalgic part too!
I also miss to ride a bicycle again...! That freedom you mentioned...
I loved how you let the kids have their own freedom and choice...
And totally dreamed by your post...
Thanks for sharing... ♥♥♥

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Hi @hgn66, thank you for stopping by and for the kind words! I appreciate it.

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Alone but not lonely. I have 4 siblings but I'm often alone. Hope you make your kids see their relatives at least. Thanks for sharing your past with us.

Posted using Partiko Android

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