The Go Cart

I grew up as an only and lonely child. However I had toys that were the envy of the neighborhood which didn’t help to make me a popular person.  This one story really is buried in my past but unforgettable.  

My parents bought me a motorized go cart when I was about 11.  It’s one of these low sitting machines machines that maxed out at about 10 mph but was so low to the ground if you crossed a street, it would be quite difficult for a car to see you.  In hindsight, why my parents would ever let ride around the neighborhood in this machine displays poor parental decisions.  I lived in a row house and the only way to get from one block to another was to ride in the alleys and cross alley to alley.  I nearly got killed at least a dozen times.  My parents had no clue.

I was somewhat over weight and drove this go cart everywhere.  One day my mother asked me to pick ups her dress at the dry cleaners which was about 1/2 mile away.  Of course, I took the go cart.  Try to imagine, how would I be able to drive the cart holding on to a dress wrapped in plastic on a hanger.  No-one thought about this.  I retrieved the dress, held it high up in the air and with one hand pushed the throttle forward and away I go.  The dress is blowing in the wind and probably less than 200 feet later, the whole thing gets wrapped around the chain and wheel and the dress is in shreds.  I untangle this mess and continue on my journey home to share this news.  I felt badly about the dress, but was much more concerned about what my father we going to do to me. It was a stupid idea to take the go cart, but my mother should have not let me go, after all I was just a kid.

After I shared this news with my mother, she told my father who had a terrible temper and I was always scared to death of him all my life.  He came out and was enraged with anger.  He slapped me around a little, but his yelling and screaming were more frightening than the slapping.  I remember laying down on the kitchen floor begging him to kill me and wishing this over.

It so happens this dress was the one my mother was going to wear Saturday night, as they went out every week and left me alone.  

Looking back at this traumatic incident, I really had no remorse other than I was bothered at my stupidity.  In retrospect, I should have folded the dress and sat on it.

It is interesting that sometimes I don’t remember what day it is, but this incident that took place  66 years ago is so fresh in my mind I remember every single detail and re-awakes so many thoughts and emotions:

Why would my parents every buy me a go cart so all the kids in the neighborhood would be envious.  I already was not part of the group because I was not a sports person, I was overweight and now these kids hated me more.  Why would my parents buy a machine whereby my life could be endangered unnecessarily every time I rode it.  I knew my parents loved me, but they were just not thoughtful, smart, good parents.

shel