Michael's Corner

Daily writing prompt

Name the most expensive personal item you’ve ever purchased (not your home or car).

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Some people haunt bookstores. Others haunt coffee cafes. I am incapable of walking past a bicycle shop.

It was the autumn of 2019. I strolled into Manayunk Bikes in Philadelphia, my wife, Kathyn, by my side. For years, I pedaled a Cannondale Caad 8—a race-red road bike trimmed in black and gray. Kathryn told me, “For your retirement, I want you to get a high-end 100% carbon fiber Cannondale with Ultegra components. You deserve it.”

I’ve always struggled with the word “deserve.” What does any of us “deserve?” “Deserve” is a word we substitute for “want” when what we want is too frivolous to reconcile. But fear not; I will not turn this into a blog based on the shallower end of human desire.

So, let us fast-forward to June of 2020. I had (and did many others) entered my fourth month of lockdown. Kathryn said, “I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but you might be retired. It’s time to start thinking about a new bike.”

I was fifty-eight-years-old in the summer of 2020. Retired? If I’m in shape enough to pedal a road bike, then I have no business retiring. So, two things happened: I resurrected my career and then bought a new bike. For the first time in my life, with Kathryn’s strong encouragement, I abided the concept there’s no time like the present. And, without any further ado…