Kickstart challenge
As a daring young lad in the summer holidays my mornings were spent watching Kickstart challenge on BBC 1 (You remember, motorcross bikes on assault courses!).

SO, having a BMX and a large garden my Dad was stupid enough to help an 8 year old build a massive see-saw using a black and decker workmate and a 20ft scaffolding plank.

I cycled down the garden, up the see-saw and it worked! I cam back to earth on the other side dead proud of myself.

Repeat a few times.

Then my Uncle (Dad's brother) through a discussion I cannot imagine waits until I cycle past then steps on the other end of the plank.

As I'm cycling up I realise all is not well... I've passed the workmate in the middle so am about 3ft in the air but the plank isn't moving like before.... 10ft of plank left

8ft of plank, no movement but I'm climbing sharply...

6ft...

4ft, I now realised I'm about 8ft off the ground and running out of board, but it's not like I can stop on a 8 inch wide plank...

2ft, 1ft....

...my front wheel reaches the end of the plank and goes over the end. Me and my BMX fell like a sack of spuds from about 10ft up onto the not as soft as you'd like lawn below.
Lying there crying & bleeding in a tangled mess of limbs and BMX I couldn't understand what happened. My back was in agony and 22 years later I still suffer back pain which I always wonder if that was the cause.

My Dad had stern words with my Uncle and I was handed a pound coin. It seems they had a bet on whether me plus bike could lift my uncle in the air if he stood on the see-saw! Not sure who won but I got a quid.

So, for helping me build, letting me use and then betting on the outcome of a child on BMX on a massive seesaw I think my Dad displayed terrible parenting skills.

Still, I can see me doing similar one day.
(golddust QOTW now revolves around being a cunt, Thu 16 Aug 2007, 14:07, Reply)