My first bicycle,growing up in Jacksonville

It was prior to my eighth Christmas and never having one, I wanted a
bicycle. Our family wasn't able to afford a new one. A neighbor family
had just bought their son a new bicycle and threw his old one in a
trash pile.

How Far is Heaven
By L. Don Oliver

On the road to a moment of truth,
There in a pile of use to be;
I espied an old rustic disclaim,
One day again I would see;

Negativism of those who doubt,
Is forever in their thought;
Who equate happiness with,
Things that must be bought;

Those who surrender their all,
To the ones they love the most;
In our heart will always live,
Until we give up the ghost;

Not among the prosperous,
The poorest in the realm;
Our father was the captain,
And he controlled the helm;

With no thought of himself,
He toiled late into the night,
Hearing the sounds of his efforts;
To insure that he got it right;

Upon that annual morning,
Sneaking quietly as could be;
A shiny refurbished bicycle,
Next to the Christmas tree;