For the last two Sundays in a row we went to ride bicycle at the Bicycle Sundays event at Bronx River Parkway (Every year from April to October a 7 seven mile stretch of the Parkway closes to automobile traffic on Sundays 10am -2pm so cyclists can enjoy the road). It was a breezy and very relaxing 2 hours ride. I saw lots of people take their kids out with them. The older kids would get their own little bikes to ride along side the parents; the younger ones, who couldn’t ride by themselves, would sit in a trailer that was towed behind their parent’s bike. It was a family event. Everyone was enjoying it and they all looked so happy.
Then came the news of the Sichuan earthquake. Tens of thousands lives lost, families destroyed. Small luxuries in life like riding a bicycle on a Sunday morning suddenly look so insignificant and precious at the same time. I think of the things I feel unhappy about in my life, then I think of those who have lost home, children, and parents in the earthquake. Things like this really change your perspective. It makes you realize what is and what is not the most important in this world.
