Bikes and Other Expenses

This morning the kids and I spent over three hours looking for a new bike for Dolly. A couple of days ago we’d gone out to run an errand and come home to discover her bike next to our front door. I didn’t know she’d left it out when we were gone. That irritated me right off the bat. As we got out of the van and headed into the house I asked Ty to bring her bike in with us, which he did. It was sitting in the kitchen for a while when Ty noticed that the seat was wobbly. Someone in the neighborhood had broken the seat halfway off the post. It could no longer be ridden. I was pissed. Not only did I not know who’d done it, but I did know that there was no way of finding out who did it because none of the little punk-ass kids in this area will actually admit to anything. It’s bullshit if you ask me.

A couple of months ago they’d also broken her scooter because they were too rough on it after I’d told them umpteen times to stay off of her toys. Of course, nobody admitted to riding or breaking the scooter even though there were witnesses who saw a couple of different kids riding it. How was I supposed to find out who broke the bike when nobody was around to see who did that? It just really pisses me off that parents don’t even teach their kids empathy for someone else. What I’d really like to do is take something from each of the kids around here and bust the shit out of it so they can see what it feels like to have something of theirs taken from them. It’ll never happen but it’s a nice dream.

Anyway, the four of us went out at 10:00 this morning in search of a new big-girl bike for Dolly. The one that got broken was a 12” and the seat was up all the way. The problem was that the handlebars couldn’t go up any further and she was still eating her kneecaps when she rode. It was time for a new bike I was just hoping to make it a couple of more weeks. Our first stop was Wal-Mart. I love that store, as I’ve previously mentioned. I loved it until today, that is. There was nothing in the girls’ bike selection except the bikes that are $75 and over. It’s a child’s toy for shit’s sake, not a professional bicycle. She’s not going to be doing stunts on it or anything, just riding it around the parking lot. When we bought the boys’ bikes two years ago, we got generic bikes that were $50 each. The generic girls’ bikes were sold out, of course; and all that was left were the Barbie and Princess models. I wonder why!! I’m betting it’s because nobody in their right mind would be dumb enough to pay $75 for a little girls’ bike; nobody except my neighbors, that is.

About a week ago, they came home with a Barbie bike for their 4-year-old daughter; the one with the Barbie that sits on the front of the bike (an accessory that costs $20+ all on its own, mind you). Of course, Dolly wanted the same bike. So I asked my neighbor how much it cost and where they got it. I’d checked online and it showed that Wal-Mart and K-Mart both sold them but that they were expensive. She said they’d gotten it at Wal-Mart for $59 plus tax so it came to $60-something. HAH!! What a load of bullshit!! I was in Wal-Mart and they didn’t even have an empty space for a $59 Barbie bike. The cheapest one was $75. Why lie to me? What the fuck was the point? I can’t stand lying anyway so that just took credibility away from my neighbor, in my eyes.

The clerk in Wal-Mart tells me that they have some of the generic bikes coming in this evening – they only cost $50 – but I can’t wait; Dolly needs a bike today. So we leave and go to Toys-R-Us. Same thing there and they even had some returns that they were selling “As Is.” I couldn’t find out what they were going for, however, because the Nimrod family was there buying something for their daughter and had the sales clerk tied up like they were buying a new car. I don’t have time to wait so we leave and head to Big K-Mart. They’ve got bikes too but only the adult bikes are assembled. I couldn’t even find a clerk to ask if they would put a child’s bike together for me. We left there too and headed to the K-Mart next to our house.

On the way, though, I stopped at McDonald’s to get us a treat – McFlurries – which, by the way, cost $12 for all four. What the fuck? They’re ice cream with M&M’s in it. I could’ve bought a tub of ice cream and two bags of M&M’s for less than $12 and we could’ve eaten McFlurries at home all week long. So we arrive at the other K-Mart to find the same thing – only adult bikes assembled and no clerk on site. Zach runs to the Customer Service desk to have a clerk paged and we wait…and wait…and wait. He goes back and someone is paged again…with the same result. He had $20 of his own and found a skateboard he wanted to he decided to buy it. When I got fed up with the waiting, we walked to the CS desk where he paid for his skateboard and where I rudely told the cashier that nobody ever showed up to help us with a bike so we were going to Toys-R-Us to buy one. She apologized but I really didn’t care. This is just another example of me having to wait on someone and getting no result. Fuck ‘em.

On our way back to Toys-R-Us I made a quick stop at Cargo Largo that a friend said should have bikes. “Brand new merchandise at really low prices,” she’d told me. What I found was that it was a fucking warehouse of disorganized crap. Nothing was on the shelves, nothing was in any coherent order or location, and everyone shopping there looked like they’d just stepped off the Clampett homestead. No offense to anyone is intended at all by that remark. It’s just my opinion. We were, literally, in and out of that store in about 90 seconds, plus, they didn’t sell bikes so it was a complete waste of time anyway.

Back in the van and back to Toys-R-Us again. This time there wasn’t a family shopping for anything so Zach ran to find a clerk. A nice gentleman came to assist us and I explained the problem. I need a 16” bike for my daughter but nobody has any bikes for less than $75 and I won’t pay that much just because it has a Barbie or a Princess on it. He said that’s what everyone is carrying now and I’d be hard-pressed to find anything less expensive. I asked him how much the “As Is” return was and I almost passed out right there - $109.99. It’s a fucking return moron; the tires were already dirtied so someone had been riding it for a couple of hours, at least. Then I found a cute little green and pink one that had a price tag of $54.99. That wasn’t too bad. Of course, to get it assembled it was an extra $10. Shit, I can assemble it myself; just give it to me so I can be on my way. He checks stock and, guess what, none in back. The only one there is the one I’m looking at so I’ll have to be charged the extra $10. Give me a fucking break, would you please? Whatever, she needs a bike and I want to go home.

Dolly insisted on having a $6 Princess bell to put on the bike, too, so we wheeled the bike to the register and $77 later we were on our way home. Get home, take off the plastic coverings and the tags, and she’s off and riding. She loves her bike and I’m glad; it’s her first real big-girl bike that’s brand new. Every other bike or trike she’d had was given to her by someone else. I’m still disgruntled with the cost. Because I was in such a rush to go home, I didn’t really question whether the salesman was bullshitting me about there being none in the back simply because he wanted to make an extra $10 but I will find out tomorrow. I’m going to call and ask if they have any in stock and, if they say they do, I’ll be returning to get my $10 returned to me.

I forgot to mention, too, that the boys insisted on having a small token today so that cost a little extra. I just can’t believe that between two small toys, four ice cream treats and one bicycle, I spent $100. Not to mention that I had to put $10 worth of gas in the van from all the driving around town. It’s no wonder the economy sucks with rip-off prices like these. People are complaining that nobody can afford anything these days and I absolutely agree. Maybe if the businesses lowered their prices, consumers could afford more, which would boost sales which would boost the job market which would boost the economy. If we have to keep paying $2.60 for a little 8oz cup of ice cream, though, conditions aren’t about to improve anytime soon. It really is ridiculous.

Until next time…peace to all.