my dad, his lambretta scooter and me

when i was seven, i lived in west bridgewater (mass) with my family. cheryl and aj were both still living so there were 9 children. sundays meant mass at st. teresa's...my parents dropped us off.  if it was a nice day, we walked the long walk home, following my sister, cheryl, like obedient baby ducklings. i loved sunday mass and, when i was seven, i actually wanted to be a nun....sister teresa louise. i kid you not.

but one sunday i just didn't feel like going to church. i was commiting a venial sin by staying home but i ignored my conscience and crawled back into bed. i knew i was doomed to my bed...if we claimed 'illness' we weren't allowed to play. but i enjoyed the silence of an empty bedroom so i was happy. for the first ten minutes. after that, i got dressed and wandered into the kitchen, bored. i sighed into my bowl of cheerios. i looked out the window forlornly. i was miserable. i regretted missing mass. i was probably going to hell and i wasn't even having fun.

dad surprised me by inviting me on a motor scooter ride to visit his mom, nana larsen, in walpole (mass). i had never ridden on dad's scooter, it was brand new,  but i knew it would be fun.  my transformation from a sick child into a healthy little girl was miraculous. i could barely contain my excitement. i grabbed my jacket and we were off.

the motor scooter was not a cruising motorcycle built for comfortable travel but i loved the ride. i clung tightly to my dad, as the wind whipped my hair and the sunshine warmed my face. somewhere along the way, dad pulled into a parking lot and disappeared into a small neighborhood market. i guarded our scooter. he returned with a pair of red plastic sunglasses for me. my very own sunglasses. from my dad. clutching dad as we road along the highway, i was beaming in my red sunglasses. despite my earlier fall from grace, i was in heaven...

i don't remember much about visiting my grandmother that day. i suspect it was a brief visit, that dad simply wanted to show off his new lambretta. i do remember nana fretting about it being dangerous as we prepared to leave. but we were rebels, dad and i. we hugged nana goodbye and headed home.

the sun had disappeared behind ominous dark clouds and it began to pour shortly after we left walpole. we pulled over on a deserted stretch of highway and waited for the worst of the storm to pass. dad removed a rain poncho from beneath the seat and it covered me from head to toe. the ride home was wet but glorious. i was still wearing those sun glasses when we arrived home and i wore them as i retold my adventure to my brothers and sisters later that evening.  my dad is now 89 years old and i have a brain disease so neither of us drives much anymore. but my dad is still my hero and we are still rebellious in our own ways...and i really miss those red sunglasses.