The Moral of the Story

Cindy Trane Christeson

o7 “A good example is like a bell that calls many to church.” --

Danish Proverb

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Last weekend I had the fortune and the fun of going on a bike trip with a

group of friends. There were 17 of us, all happy to be together, all

dressed in matching ladybug jerseys, and all rather vocal.

The day before I left, a salesclerk asked what my weekend plans were, and

after I explained, she asked if we were a professional team.

“Yes we are,” I answered. “We are a team of professional talkers and

eaters. Biking is a great excuse and opportunity to do both those.”

We were part of a larger organized bike trip and one day at lunch, a very

brave man asked if he could join us. His name was Roger and he sat next

to Suzanne who introduced him to the rest of us. As we all ate and

talked, Roger kept looking at each woman around the picnic table, and

when he could stand it no longer, he leaned over to Suzanne and asked,

“Do you realize that all 17 of you are talking at the same time, and

nobody appears to be listening?”

She smiled and responded, “And your point would be?” He laughed, and kept

eating, watching and listening. We must have been rather entertaining

because I noticed that other riders watched us as well.

Roger asked Suzanne if we went on trips often, because he had recently

gone on a bike trip that he loved and thought our group would really

enjoy. Apparently he liked it so much he wrote an article about it and

later gave a copy of it to Suzanne. After she read it, Suzanne thanked

him and said, “If you like writing, you really should talk to Cindy,

because she writes a weekly column in our local paper.”

Roger pedaled over to me and we talked about writing while riding. Roger

was a very experienced rider, but was new to writing. He wanted to

publish his article somewhere, so I told him some of the things I learned

the hard way. I also suggested he buy a particular book that has been

very helpful to me. He asked more questions, and I answered to the best

of my ability.

He was very appreciative, as were the different members of our group,

when he helped them with assorted bike problems.

I talked to Roger a few times over the weekend and I think he talked

briefly to most everyone in our group.

On the last day of the ride, Roger said to Suzanne, “I’ve been on a lot

of group bike trips and I have never seen a group get along as well as

yours does. You have a real cohesiveness about you. Are you some sort of

club?”

Suzanne explained that we were all Christians and the bond he saw came

from God. They talked a bit more and she answered some more of his

questions.

Hopefully Roger learned a little more about writing from some of the

things I said. Hopefully he learned a lot more from what he saw in our

group.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She can be reached via e-mail at o7

[email protected] or through the mail at P.O. Box 6140-No. 505,

Newport Beach 92658.