One of the wonderful things about being the age that I am is that I have a host of memories of good times shared with other people. When I worked with people experiencing loss and grief, I frequently said to them, “Your memories will become your friends.” Our brains do a marvelous job of sifting and sorting through our memories. As time passes, we often discard painful memories in favor of pleasant ones. Victims of trauma sometimes need professional help to sort through their traumatic experiences, but for many of us the natural process of living with our memories provides an effective tool for sifting the good from the bad. When I planned funeral services with families they were often surprised at the laughter and giggles that erupted as they told me stories. I was always delighted by their stories because it helped their loved one come alive for me.

Of course we don’t have to wait until we experience loss to befriend our memories. Memories are triggered by pleasant experiences as well as pain. Each time I ride a bicycle, a host of memories come to my mind. The past couple of days as I have enjoyed venturing forth on a new bicycle, my mind goes into free association mode as I ride and the memories are joyful and fun.

Susan and I have different internal clocks. She is a night owl. She likes to sit with a cup of peppermint tea and a good book after I have crawled into bed and gone to sleep. She needs to wind down a bit before sleep comes. I have never had much trouble going to sleep. I crawl into bed and quickly am sleeping. In the morning, I’m ready to get up and get going while she likes to linger for a few minutes before getting up. The two different paces worked well for us early in our marriage when we were students. We shared a single typewriter. I wanted to use it first thing in the morning and she wanted to use it in the evening. We rarely had conflict about whose turn it was to type our papers and reports. It worked well when our children were tiny. She’d stay up late with a little one who needed attention. I was available for morning duty for early risers.

Our two children were one of each sense of timing when they were young. Our son liked to stay up late and sleep in. our daughter was quick to head for bed and liked to rise early. When she was just becoming a teen she and I had a Saturday routine. We would get up before the other two and ride our bikes to a nearby restaurant for breakfast. Riding a bike reminds me of those wonderful early morning rides with her. When she was a bit older and we had moved from Idaho to South Dakota we shifted or routine a bit. Our South Dakota home was in a hilly area where biking was a challenge. We often had to haul our bikes into town or to a trail head in order to find good places to ride. Our daughter and I began taking a canoe to the lake. Sometimes we would fish. Often we would just paddle around the lake and enjoy each other’s company.

Our children were just the right age for us to share the delight of Jim Henson’s Muppets. They were allowed to watch Sesame Street when they were young and when the Henson team began making movies, we often ended up in the theatre as a family. On our early morning canoe trips, our daughter and I would sing all of the songs from the movies. When she was visiting recently, she asked me if I could remember the lyrics. I may have trouble remembering what I came into the room to do. I sometimes have trouble remembering names of familiar people. I occasionally struggle to remember to turn off the water when it is our day to water the garden. But I can sing all of the words to “A Professional Pirate” from the Muppets Treasure Island.

When I was just a lad looking for my true vocation
My father said “Now son, this voice deserves deliberation
Though you could be a doctor or perhaps a financier
My boy, why not consider a more challenging career?”

Hey ho ho!
You’ll cruise the foreign shores
And you’ll keep your mind and body sound
By working out of doors.

True friendship and adventure are what we can’t live without
And when you’re a professional pirate
That’s what the job’s about.

There’s more to that song. When we sang it together we’d trade lyrics of the various pirates. Rachel would sing, “I could have been politics ‘cause I’ve always been a big spender.” I’d respond with “And me, I could’ve been a contender.”

Last evening as I was riding my bike, other muppet movies came to mind. One of the iconic scenes from the Muppet Movie that is easy to remember is when Kermit the Frog rides a bicycle. The bike in the movie has large, long handlebars and a basket on the front. My new bicycle has large handlebars and a basket on the front. Kermit appears to pedal effortlessly. The electric boost on my bike makes pedaling a lot easier than with my other bike which doesn’t have an electric motor. Somehow riding that bike with the big handlebars and basket while not working all that hard to pedal brings to mind Kermit riding the bike. In the movie the bike often appears to be floating in the air with the tires off of the ground. My new e-bike has a soft suspension and a feeling of floating as I ride.

In the Great Muppet Character, Kermit and Miss Piggy ride their bicycles singing,

Yes couldn’t we ride side by side
Why couldn’t we fly, I know we’d get by

Sunny day, pretty day
just a push and we’re on the way

Yes couldn’t we ride side by side
Couldn’t we ride.

I have to be careful to sing the song to myself as I ride my new bike. I think the neighbors might think I’d taken leave of my senses if I was singing Muppet lyrics each time I left the driveway. However, I can’t keep the lyrics from coming to mind. Memory is wonderful that way and I’ve got a lot of wonderful memories.

That’s why I’m smiling as I ride my bike.