The Learning Cycle

My daughter is a single parent, who works hard to provide for herself and her three young sons. She budgets carefully and manages to plan for little luxuries and treats that many take for granted.

When her eldest son, David, wanted a bicycle so that he could do an after-school pamphlet delivery job, the family saved up and soon he was the proud owner of a good second-hand bicycle. One afternoon my daughter asked David to go to the local shop on an errand. He rode his bicycle, but foolishly left it outside the shop without putting on the lock. When David came out of the shop, it was gone. He walked home in tears and then, together with his exasperated mother, went to the local police station to report the theft.

Imagine their joy when they arrived at the station: a car parked out front had David’s bike wedged in the boot. The driver told my daughter how he’d seen a group of kids go for the bike once my grandson had gone inside the shop. The driver – in his late teens – had called out to them to leave the bike alone. Despite this, one of the kids in the group had jumped on the bicycle and ridden it away while the others followed.

The teen got in his car, drove after them and demanded the stolen bike back. He was happy to be able to return it to my grandson together with a lecture about the folly of failing to use the bike lock. Then, in all the excitement, he slipped away, without even giving his name or telephone number.