Freewheelin'

Growing up in Boston, Eliot Tatelman, president of Jordan’s Furniture Stores, used to love riding his bike all over his Newton neighborhood and beyond. He didn’t want kids today to miss out on that sense of fun and freedom, so this summer he decided to give away 1,000 brand-new Diamondbacks to kids from Boston Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs. The kids went whoop-de-do wild when they got their wheels.

In the spirit of passing on the good deed, and to show that giving can be more satisfying than receiving, each of the kids was also given a hundred-dollar bill they had to give away to help someone else. Other businesses pitched in to the bike giveaway event as well. Wahlburgers donated food and Ben & Jerry’s came through with the ice cream. As Eliot was leaving, he looked out at the Harbor Path in Dorchester and spotted the kids already riding around on their new wheels and said, “That’s the payback for me, the smiles on the kids.”

 

It’s great those kids are riding bikes. What the Christ, we were always pedaling around. I had a Columbia Fire Arrow. And there was always either a fishing pole or a baseball bat across the handle bars. Hey, we even cranked them up like Harley’s by clipping baseball cards in the spokes. Popping balloons in there was even louder. Let ‘em know we’re comin’, baby. If kids had a little more of that kind of freedom today, we’d all be a helluva lot better off. Have a good 4th of July weekend.

Keep your dukes up.


 

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