Pat Pend.
     As the days had gone by, the creator's father had intentions of saving up for new van while using the his current van. In some cases, if or when a job opportunity had kicked in for the creator, he would be able to share and take turns using his father's family van. As for the creator's mother's family car, the Thunderbird had a serious engine overheating problem and it couldn't be driven for long periods of time otherwise, the engine would stall on the street each time. What was wrong with the family car?
     Somehow, the creator needed to relay on some type of transportation. The creator had known that, something was already wrong when his mother and father didn't have any financial means to loan the money for a car or at least buy a used car for the creator's graduation. Unlike his three older siblings, they were all in the same around age group when any of them needed help from each other during peer pressure. The creator however didn't have that luxury. Why couldn't they save up for their baby brother, the creator? The weeks would go by. Some calls from job offerings came through.
     The jobs which the creator had signed up for were interested to interview him. It was just a matter of time when he was asked to come in for each interview. The next day after Independence day of 1995, the creator had plans to go to his very first interview. His parents where so proud of him that, they had given him some money to buy parts to repair his bicycle. If there was going to be job for the creator to go to everyday, the creator would be better off at least, riding a bike to get to his new job rather wasting time if he was walking on foot to work.     
     During that afternoon, the creator had sat down to make repairs to his ten-speed mountain bike. It had take him only and hour to complete his repairs. The bike was repaired and read to go. He was off to his first job interview to be possibly a janitor at the auto sales building. The creator had arrived in time and ask for the manager who wanted to interview him. The creator had met with the manager and both of them had sit down in the auto sales office. The interviewing manager had read the creator's application and his resume. Everything appeared to be in order for the creator but, was the general sales manager who was interviewing the creator being honest deciding on who to hire? Thirteen years in school from kindergarten to a high school diploma, over eight-teen (18) years old along with no restrictions as the criminal part of law would go. Not married and no children. The general sales manager had placed the creator's papers down on his desk and he said that, he would call the him once he made his hiring decision based on other candidates as well. The creator had got up from his chair and left to go back home.
     A week later another place had called the creator to come in. This was the electronic shop located at the corner of the mini / strip mall. About two days after that, the creator road his mountain bike to the electronics store. Under the store was a huge basement where other candidates were also waiting to be interviewed too. The creator sat at a table waiting to be called. The creator had seen people coming and going during interviews. He would see people leaving to go home. Each person would get called in the order their applications were filled out. Other candidates would get up from their chairs and then walk to whom called their name out. About seven (7) to eight (8) minutes would go by, those same people or candidates would walk back out of the rooms and then go up the stairs. The creator had sat there for an hour in the room until his full name was called. This is an orientation room of some kind where new electronic devices each month are introduced to the current employees.
     The creator had strong interests in electronics hoping that he would get the job which he needed. The creator's interview began. As like the last interviewer, the general auto sales manager who had interviewed the creator at the auto sales building, this person had just about the same approach. The creator had answered as many questions as he could including some challenging questions as well. The creator's interview was finished. The person who interviewed him had given him a card the with the big red, "R" which stamped over the name of their district manager's name and said that, this person will call you. The creator was excited. After that, the creator had walk out the door and up the stairs to go home. 
     Another week or two had gone by. There was one month to go until the children would go back to school for the 1995 fall  season. There were times, which the creator's father wasn't in the mood to go out sometimes to get stuff from the grocery store or to run errands. Sometimes the creator would be asked by his both parents to go on his bike to get food and other stuff for his both parents. The creator had known that his mother and his father liked going out in the family van sometimes. The creator was lucky to have his own mountain bike repaired by himself a few months back otherwise, he would be unable to go to his job interviews and to get other stuff for his parents as well. With the creator's siblings out of the house, the creator's both parents needed to relay on the creator sometimes. His father was slowing getting the run down feeling more often.
     Another call had come through. There was another interview for the creator to attend to. He attended to the factory for an interview and so on. He was asked to go home and that, he would be called. The pizza place from the strip / mini mall had called him. They wanted to interview him. What the creator didn't notice is that, even though he had installed a new tube in his rear tire, both of his tires were wearing out. It appeared to have about fifty (50) more miles to go according to what the tire treads would indicate. It was either to use the budget money to buy some of gas for his father's van or buy both bicycle tires for the creator's mountain bike. The creator's father was losing some interest of using his van so, the creator's father give him money for him to buy his bike tires. Something wasn't right about the creator's father. No interest of driving his van. This particular van was custom built by the auto factory which it came from according to his father's specifications. It had double gas tanks, super heavy suspension for heavy hauling with a 351 engine. The wooden interior was personally built by the creator's father himself. This van was his father's pride and joy. Why was he slowing beginning to give up driving his van?   

    The creator had replaced the old bike tires with new bike tires. The mountain bike was ready to roll once again. The creator did know that, if one of his tires had popped, he wouldn't be able to relay on his parents or any one else to drive him around unlike if he had car of his own. As the weeks had gone by into the fall season, the van had sat for weeks in the driveway. There were times that, his father would give his son, the creator the keys to start the van. This would at least keep the engine at running state with out the battery and other parts going bad on it. The creator needed to place a house brick on the gas pedal to keep the idle at an even pace with out the engine dying out. With the cooler weather setting in, the van would need maintenance checks more often since it had to sit out in the cold mid-west elements of the weather.
     Winter of 1995 was here. The creator's father was doing ok but, not really up to par as his ambition level would go. As the days had gone on, the creator's mother too, was getting more concerned about her husband's health. The 1995 Christmas season had arrived and passed with good family memories. The creator was already convinced beyond doubt that, his parents were unable to give him a car for a Christmas / Graduation combination present. As for the creator and his job status, other employment places which the creator had applied in the past weeks and months, were unable to call or just didn't call at all. The creator did the right thing by calling these job places or going over to them again to reapply. The first place he returned was the first factory located next the train yard. At this point, with his concern, he was not going to let the cold weather get in his way while riding his bike regardless that he had no medical coverage at this point.      
     The creator know that something was not right in the job market when he had seen that, Hispanic janitor walking with the floor scrubber passing him by at the auto sales building. He was unable to put his finger on it. The creator's father had picked up his head and looked at his son. He told the creator, his son, "to not worry, stay home until the spring season will come back and look for a job then, right now talk care of me and your mother" was his words.

     The next day after new year's day, the creator's father had given the creator some money to pick up some things at the grocery store. The creator's father also asked his son, to take a milk crate or a cardboard box with to carry the food back home. The creator had known some of the guys who were working at the grocery store. Some of them too had graduated from another high school which their district number was the same as the high school where the creator had graduated from. These were friends which the creator had known for some time after high school. There were times that, he asked them what their secret was. How did they get their jobs without dealing with the current struggle which the creator was currently dealing with at the time. There other times which the creator would lock up his bike at the grocery store and then, he would notice some of their cars parked on the parking lot. Ok, some cars were owned by their parents but, how did they get the jobs to begin with?

     Later on that day, on the second of January of 1996, the creator knew that some of his friends didn't know on how lucky they are that, they have an auto to get them around especially if they needed to cart stuff around. At his later age of eighteen years old going on nineteen, they had seemed to have a head start on life already unlike the creator. All of the creator's siblings normally had cars before they were eighteen years old. How did this make the creator feel being left out like that? Anyway, while ridding his bike back home from the grocery store, the creator had hit a hidden bump under the snow and then slipped on some black ice in the street and fell of his mountain bike along with the boxes of groceries.
     There had been other jobs beside the examples on the map which the creator had applied at. The creator had applied at a hospital to be whatever the qualifications wouldn't effect his status or his job credentials . The creator didn't have a degree to be doctor or to apply for other positions that required a degree of some kind. How could the creator save up for collage rather saving up to get his father's van repaired. His father wasn't taking care of his own van like he usually would and once again, the creator needed to save up money to have his father's van repaired. There was another job which the creator had set forth to apply at. This job was at a golf range to be a golf caddie. The cold season wasn't completely here yet but, the creator wanted to take that chance anyway. The creator would pick up golf balls off the ground at the end of each golfer's session. There was a girl who was the creator's love during high school. She had asked her mother if he could get a job at the plastics factory where her mother works. This was a factory were plastic is molded into items to be shipped to stores for selling. The creator knew her mother very well and liked her and wanted to get job working there. The method is that, if you know someone, use them as a referral. The creator had taken upon himself to do just that. This was another place who might call the creator for a job interview.     
    He walked into the places which he had applied in the past asking questions about his qualifications. All that was told to him was, positions were filled. Filled by whom, as the creator had asked. He was told, sorry, can not help you, reapply in six months or some thing to those words. The creator had scratched his head each time and had walk out of the buildings. At this point, the creator gone back to the first factory where he also had applied at. The were allot of cars and trucks in the company's parking lot. Who was working here? These creator had walked up to one of the factory windows. Beyond the quarter inch thick glass, there seemed to be two (2) main ethnic groups of people working with the machines. One group of people appeared to be from the far south-west, outside the country. Some of them were wearing straw hats on their heads. The creator didn't see anyone else who was related to his ethnic appearance. The second group of people which he had noticed appeared to be descendents from the ancient days of the tribes. Again, was that lawyer trying to tell the creator something about job diversity and saving money for the companies? 
      The creator had gone back to that auto sales building to meet up with that general auto sales manager. The creator road his bike over there. The creator wanted to know about his job status over there. When he arrived there, that manager wasn't around in the office however, the creator did see who was doing the work as the new janitor as he passed the creator up in the hallway while heading back out of the manager's office to go home. It was a man with dark orange like skin with a black mustache wearing one of those straw hats on his head just like some of the people from the factory. The creator didn't know what to think. Did this man have children? Was this man married? With those two possible facts, did he have more qualifications than the creator?  What can the creator say or do? The creator had ridden home to face the music.
     With traffic going back and forth on the street that day, no buddy but, no buddy had made any attempt to stop and get out of their cars to help the creator up off the sidewalk. With a bruised kneecap, one of the foot pedals broken off and a front wheel flat, the creator had to get up on his own and walk the bike with the box of groceries home in the snow. The creator had thought to himself, is this how much drivers admire having a car to get around rather helping someone who is at need on the street? 
     The creator's parents had celebrated the 1996 new year. With not that much financial means, to go out and celebrate, the creator and his parents all sat down to watch some of the new years celebrations on television that were going on in different parts of the countries and in other countries as well. The creator had picked up his head and thought about his mountain bike. He looked at both of parents to think about something. With an unknown medical condition which was developing in his father's both legs, his father needed to get around in a wheel chair. His father had some trouble using his both legs to use for walking and driving. With his father's right leg not responding to stand up unlike his left leg, this was another issue on why his father was unable to use the both gas and break pedals in his van to drive. This would cause a serious accident on the road and his father could get hurt and die if he was driving his van. This was on the creator's mind from day to day.
     One new year's day, this was the first time which the creator had noticed his father sitting for the first time in wheel chair in the house. The creator was working up a brain storm. The creator had looked at his father's legs. Then, the creator had looked at his own legs and notched how well-built his legs are from all the past bike riding that he has done. He looked at his father's wheel chair. He had studied the way the wheel chair was built. The creator had came up with a new-years resolution. He stated to his both parents that, he doesn't know how or when but, he well create something with the thought he had in his head which would be virtually free to drive, ride or operate without eating so many nickels and dimes unlike having an auto to get around. The creator himself had described to his both parents on how difficult he had been having that no job was being offered to him to work at. Was there something wrong with the economy or the job market?

     With the money he had, he was able to purchase a tube to replace his  popped wheel. Why was it popped? Due to the common mid-western weather, the streets in the area are known to expand and retract during hot the and colds seasons causing cracks and unexpected holes to form in the street. These are the type of holes which might not be seen in time while riding a bicycle and it would be too late to stop in time to avoid a popped tube and a busted bicycle rim. As the creator heard from time to time, some car drivers out there don't know the luxury they have in the long run while they can get around in a car in the mid-western weather's climate unlike the other people who are unable to afford or/and finance a vechical. 

     Another part which the creator had purchased was the sprocket chain for the gears. Why? During the mid-western cold season, salt rocks are laid on the street to melt the snow. Allot of times depending how heavy the salt content is, the salt would kick up from the tire's tread and would collect on the sprocket chain and the moving gears while riding a bike. This would happen to bicycles which have shifting gears such as commonly known, as the ten-speed bicycle. The joints in the sprocket chain are being slowly eaten away causing deterioration an ageing. At one point, if a certain amount of foot pressure is applied on the pedals, the sprocket chain can easily snap off without any prediction at all causing a repair bill. Oil can be applied to the sprocket chain however, bike ridding would be more preferred during the warm season.

     The creator had thought about all of the bicycle repairs which he had repetitiously experienced over the past years. He knew himself that a bicycle with just two single gears alone would be ok since there would less moving parts to deal with. In his case, he wouldn't have the speed which he would need to get around from place to place in a hurry. With the warm season present, this would be his best opportunity to ride around to his interviews as quick as possible..