Jennie
jhango@osiris.ac.hmc.edu
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thaddeus Ladd wrote:
Hello, my name is Ted and I ride a unicycle.
(Hello, Ted, <applause>...)
When I was a young boy, way back in grade school, my parents bought me a
bicycle. It was the age when most young boys were learning to ride
bikes, and of course I didn't want to be ostricized.
And so my mother put training wheels on my new bike, and helped me along
by holding me up, pushiing, etc. And when the training wheels were on, I
could ride.
And when my mother removed the training wheels, I couldn't ride for love
nor money. I'd try; I'd go two feet and fall. And I tried, again, and
again, and again, and let me tell you, it was painful. I completely gave
up. My mother sold the bike to my neighbor, who laughed at me for my
deficiency. It was a very traumatic time.
Whn I came here, to Harvey Mudd College, I was given the oppurtunity to
unicycle. My first attempt met failure. So did my second. So did a
third. When an experienced unicycler saw me, I was of course somewhat
embarassed, so I uttered the excuse "Well, I never learned to ride a
bike." And he said, "Yeah, I could tell."
But I persisted. And after a week or two, a unicycle became like a third
leg to me. . .
And if you ask me whther it is easier to learn to ride a bike or a
unicycle, I say a unicycle, for a bike is more of an artificial machine.
When you start riding a bike, the bike is in control, not you. And bikes
have minds of their own. No really! They have an innate malice which
force you to smash into walls and recieve gruesome injuries.
Unicycles, however, are more under the rider's control. Which makes it
harder for the rider at first, but after not too much time they seem very
natural.
I think in total, the amount of wheels on a vehicle is inversely
porportional to the amount of control of the rider.
At least that's true for me. So, you don't want to know what happened
last time I tried to drive a car....
Sincerely,
Thaddeus "Place Your Ad Here!" Ladd