This evening I was walking back from taking out the trash when a group of 4 young boys (probably ages 10 to 14) came by riding their bicycles. They stopped, and one yelled at me, “Hey, mister.”

Here we go, I thought.

Then he just asked me, “Do you like bikes?”

I told him at one time I loved bikes and used to ride all over town on my Royce Union 10-speed with no hands … and I could ride a wheelie for forever! Then I laughed and told him, “But, that was long ago, though.”

Then another one of them asked, “How about skateboards?”

I laughed again and replied, “Do I look like I should be on a skateboard?” They all laughed at that. One said he was going to be the next Tony Hawk!

The one boy proceeded to tell me he did all kinds of tricks on his BMX bike and showed me how well he could ride a wheelie. It was pretty impressive, I must say.

We joked around for a few more minutes. Finally, one of the boys said that they needed to get going. So, I told them all to have a great evening. They waved and started off. Then one stopped and turned back to me.

“Are you a veteran?” he asked.

“I am,” I replied. I was wearing an R.E.D. T-shirt.

“Thank you for your service,” he stated. Then went on after his friends. I must admit I was surprised. He was maybe 13 …

But I smiled inside. There may still be hope!