A Killer and the Bee
June 24, 2008, by Prudence Baird
To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, you go bicycle riding with the family you have, not the family you want or wish to have at a later time.
For one thing, there is no later time. Having children at ages 38 and 40 IS later.
And for another…well, there is no other. Options are limited when you debut a husband, two infants and a mortgage early in the second act of your life.
Take, for instance, the option of teaching your little ones bicycle-riding skills in the serpentine Hollywood hills neighborhood that seemed so urbano rustico prior to gestating, but afterwards morphed into a sidewalk-free deathtrap. This is why, at ages 12 and 14, my children are only emerging bicycle riders.
But, come Mother’s Day, I am determined to have a mother-and-sons afternoon bike ride. Magical thinking, to be sure, but isn’t the whole concept of a special day set aside to honor mothers the epitome of magical thinking? It might commence with breakfast in bed, but Mother’s Day is guaranteed to culminate with hurt feelings and slamming doors.
Nonetheless, I drive bikes and sons to a lightly traveled bucolic loop alongside the Connecticut River. “Just to the river and back,” I promise looking at their skeptical faces. Their bike-riding resumes thus far include the dirt road in front of our new Vermont home and an empty church parking lot in Los Angeles.
The sun shines, spring flowers scent the air and a light breeze blows in off the river. We cycle past a sheep farm, saltbox farmhouses, freshly plowed fields. Somewhere between the first bend in the road and the river, however, trouble strikes.
“Bee! Bee!” screams my little one, dropping his bike in the middle of the road and taking off on foot, still wearing his bike helmet.
“I told you we shouldn’t have done this,” says my oldest son, who said no such thing.
“Shut up! And stay to the right,” I yell over my shoulder, chasing my youngest who disappears over a hill.
A motorcyclist speeds by, narrowly missing my son, me and the prone bike in that order.
“Get your bike outta the road, bitch!” he yells as he passes.
“Happy Mother’s Day,” I call after him, an act which convinces my oldest that the biker will come back with his hoodlum gang and kill us.
“We have to get out of here – now!” he yells, peddling furiously back towards the car.
With one child gone this way, and the other that, I sit down to wait. A lime-green butterfly lands on my ring finger, then flits away, reminding me that my precious boys are mine to share for just a few more years before they, too, flit away to lead their own lives.
I rise, refreshed and grateful for this epiphany that wouldn’t have happened without my sons, the motorcycle killer and the bee. I silently thank my children for this most perfect Mother’s Day gift.
See more of Casey’s portraits and art >>
June 24th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Pru…I’ve yet to have the Mother’s Day I dreamed of..when i bothered to think about it…this one sounds pretty typical! Love the portrait and Casey’s site…tho i cannot figure out how to tell him…these things continue to confound me…hope Vermont is all you hoped for…love to all the guys and you , too!
Cheryl B and the X Boyz
June 24th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Hey Cheryl! I cannot figure out how to re-enact the “comments” option on caseysart.blogspot.com (I disabled it earlier by tinkering with it. Duh.) Keep checking in…when Ethan’s back, I’ll have him try to fix it. Vermont is more than what we hoped for…come visit! The only caveat is that you may never go back once you’ve been here. I wish we’d moved here a decade ago.
Cheers,
Pru
June 25th, 2008 at 12:25 am
hi prudence, casey’s site is amazing and if he so choses, we may be seeing people pay a lot of money for his art some day. i hope to have a mother’s day similar to yours in the future – especially the revelation in the middle of it. i love it when those revelations hit – it’s like, ‘oh yeah, THAT’S why i chose to have kids!’
June 25th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Thank you, a biagi! We had no idea that this child — whose birth was so traumatic that it left him with brain damage — would someday blossom into the artist he has become; capable of capturing his subjects’ souls and characters in a unique way. He is an amazing spirit, worthy of his own platform in life. Casey has a wonderful poster for sale through Galerie Lakaye in Los Angeles – http://www.galerielakaye.com/artwork.html – one-third of the sale price goes to the campaign for Barack Obama for President. Check it out and you’ll see why. He calls it “Politics, Politics, Politics.”
June 26th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Happy to hear you are loving it all…not too cold in the winter?? Casey’s poster is fantastic…damn, what insight the lad has! Wish I have $$ to buy it… Hoping to score a paying gig for the Obama race…any leads?? Some day I hope to visit in your ‘hood! xoC
June 26th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
I hear Hillary’s hiring — no lie! She’s Obama’s chief surrogate campaigner and is in the process of putting together an Obama-financed staff to accompany her on her campaign (for him) stopovers around the country. She may even get her own jet! No chance they’ll come to VT…we’re a slam dunk for the Dems.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:44 am
I tip my hat to you for creating these moments with your children. While the killer bee incident might not of have been what you had in mind, it will be a lasting memory and a good story for the boys — a special mother’s day with a very special mom.
July 1st, 2008 at 11:26 am
Casey’s portraits are spectacular! Love Mr. Bean. Does he sell them?
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Casey’s portraits–and you–are extraordinary. Lovely insights.
Love you,
Breon
July 3rd, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Thank you, Christie, for your message. Casey’s portraits ARE for sale…please contact him @ via his website http://caseysart.blogspot.com/ or at caseymetcalfe@gmail.com
July 10th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Did anyone get that this essay’s title was a send-up for “Akeela and the Bee”?