  On my seventh birthday my dad bought me a new bicycle. He was currently residing in a motor lodge, near a freeway entrance to the 101, while my parents settled the domestic matters of their impending divorce. On the afternoon of my birthday, my dad took me to Toys'R'us to choose my new wheels. Down that long isle of gleaming bicycles I searched for my match.
The one I finally chose had a purple banana seat and tassels hanging from the handle bars. He had to assemble it in the parking lot of the motel with new tools purchased from Kmart that morning. I don't remember a lot from my 7th year, but I distinctly recall riding that newly assembled bike in laps around the parking lot. 
