The end of the week was coming. My dad and I stepped out of the van onto his coworker’s empty driveway. The go kart rolled onto the gravel as the ties were released. From the moment we had arrived, there was no one there. We walked up their driveway a little to see if he was parked out back. Behind the house revealed no pick up truck, however I saw something I just had to have. Underneath a tarp, nearly half uncovered, was a blue four wheeler, and It was like it was calling to me. It was just sitting there sinking in the mud,and it looked so sad. I had to have have it, and my dad could see the desire on my face. Dad’s buddy pulls in and after some discussion that I had no interest in, the guy came over and uncovered the Quad. It was more beautiful than any old beater nowadays that they call “new”.

The guy looks at me then looks at dad. “You want me to help load her up?” he said. Pointing to the quad sitting on four flat tires. My face must’ve been priceless and if I could have seen it i’d probably make fun of myself.  My dad told him no that we had it covered. He appointed me to one end of the quad and I grabbed it. We pushed it up the driveway, and loaded it up on the trailer and my excitement was at a flare.

After a long ride I finally arrived at home, night was falling, and as I looked out the window I could see my reflection staring back at me. The van comes to a halt, lunging me forward as it stops, I remember I was so tired that the only thing keeping me from falling out of my seat was the strap across my chest. A sudden surge of energy had ran through me as I realized I was home. I unbuckle and climb over the back seat to see it. There it was, though it didn’t look like much, to me it was beautiful. The moonlight gleamed across the blue plastic that created the fender wells. It sat on four black flat tires, and the plastic on the seat was torn to bits, releasing the yellow foam that I couldn’t ever help myself but to play with. I don’t know what it is about kids and foam but it’s like it just calls them to pick at it.  It felt as if I had stared at it for a good solid hour or so before turning to go into the house.

I remember dreaming about it, and It looked like crap in all honesty, but it was mine, the first quad that was truly mine to own. I awoke the next morning wanting to get right to work. Dad and I pulled it off the trailer and began to give it a routine run over. My dad and I had done so many times before, tearing it apart from the outside in. Immediately we began noticing problems. We stripped her of all the plastic and got her down to the frame. I unloaded the battery from the van and hauled over to the quad, setting it atop the brush-guard. We tried giving it a jump to see if it would start and the starter squealed and struggled but wasn’t working.

Next we searched for a starter at the motorcycle shop’s website and found one for around two hundred dollars, and this was just the beginning. After repairing the starter we got it to run. I had to replace the tires for it to go anywhere which was an extra $400.00. So I got a job as a farm hand to pay for everything making roughly eight bucks an hour. I started saving up for bigger purchases. First was the tires, and then the Cam chain. The valves were cheap, but I had to reseal them twice which cost me double.

Over the course of about a year she was ready. I welded on a brush guard and crash bar to top it off. It was finally finished, and I was finally happy with it. News came around that we had to move soon, and I had thought I would be able to take the quad with me. I was wrong. Come time to move, I had three days to sell it. I posted my quad online for sale at $2,000.00, by day two I dropped $1,500.00. We loaded up the trailer and there was no room for anything else. The final day before we moved I dropped the price to $500.00, I didn’t want to but it had to be done. It sold fast, and i didn’t want it to. A guy came by, giving me the money and I felt like I lost my soul as I loaded it up on his truck. All that hard work...All that time and money. Gone.

Everything I worked so hard to achieve and make to my liking, gone within a week’s notice.