Liebes Christkind,

kannst du mir dieses Jahr ein kleines Velo bringen? Ich möchte so gerne mit den anderen Kindern draussen rumfahren.

Besten Dank,

Othmar

Of course, these old letters to the Christ child are long gone and likely out of fashion. Our parents encouraged us every year to write them at some point in December, sort of like a wish list. But there was no equivalent to Santa and its spending power anywhere in sight. Our desires were usually well above the willingness and ability of our parents to comply.

So, I have very few memories of those Christmas wishes. But I certainly remember my wish to have a bicycle. There was mom’s old 3-speed in the garage; but it was rarely sufficient to meet the mobility needs of four youngsters, and it was even a rarer occurrence when we had allowed access to the use of the elegant two-wheeled cruiser.

The wish was carried forward and finally came true when I had some of my own earned Swiss francs. Now some thirtyfive years later, the bicycle is still a preferred mode of transportation, and one that can be fun once in a while, too.

[This is another blog post responding to the Daily Prompts, part of an exercise to expand my writing skills.]