I grew up in a small town next to west philly. We didn’t have much money, so I made my money by finding old bikes (or parts) and building new bikes from what I gathered, then selling them, straightened, tuned, freshly-painted, and shined. I always wanted a go-kart and finally managed to buy one, but it didn’t have a motor and I never ended up managing to get one for it.
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Ironically, when I as 18, someone let me have my first car, which was going to be scrapped or parted out, most likely. It was a 1972 Duster (think it was an R/T?) Didn’t matter because it had no engine or transmission, and absolutely no redeeming asthetic value, either. I had it towed home with what little cash I had. The only place for it was in my Dad’s parking space in the alley. He was pissed off beyond belief and gave me 3 days to have it removed.
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Luck shined on me somehow. On the second day, I struck a deal with a co-worker to swap the plymouth for his Kawasaki 440 LTD. It ran great and I ended up driving that bike for 3 years.

You know, that still looks fun. I think I can vouch for the quality of the old wagons somewhat though. Mine actually was handed down to me by my brother who is 13 years older than I am. Ours didn’t have the pneumatic tires and I remember seeing pictures of it in the album dated somewhere around 1980. We still have that thing. It’s been repainted and oiled but we got it!!

Radio Flyers… now that’s a whole different chapter of the book. Since you’re only 20 you will just have to trust me when I tell you how well built Radio Flyers were made back in the 60′s compared to the ones they make today. But that never stopped me from still enjoying one. Here is a photo of my gradson and I going for a ride down the driveway in he new Radio Flyer…. http://lacarrera2007.blogspot.com/2007/05/getting-started-off-on-right-foot.html

Know what you’re talking about entirely. Aside from living south of Akron, OH where the first soap box derbys took place, we had a long hill as well. In the winter, it was sled riding with a ramp at the bottom. In the summer it meant grabbing the ol’ Radio Flyer wagon and cruising down at full speed. We spilled more than once, but it was fun. I’m only 20, but if there was one thing my parents taught me about fun, it was making do without cable television in favor of a pile of scrap wood instead. My dad had plenty of that since he was a carpenter.