I want to ride my bicycle

My son (finally) learned to ride his bike without training wheels over the weekend. It was difficult to get him to overcome his understandable fear of falling off and hurting himself, but thanks to the patience of my wife and a nice grassy area at the local park to practice without fear of injury, he finally got the hang of it. He even went around the 1.25 mile loop around the park as my wife struggled at times to keep up with him.

For those of us who will never own a motorcycle or a convertible, riding a bike is the closest we'll get to experience what it's like to be a bird. We're riding at relatively high speeds (compared to walking or running), the wind is in our face and we feel like we can go anywhere. It's a freeing sensation that cars can't compare to, mostly due to the whole windshield and safety thing.

So we're going for a bike ride today to help him practice more, though I imagine soon he'll be zooming around the neighborhood experiencing the same kind of freedom a 16-year old does when he or she gets her first driver's license. It's an exciting time for him.


Today's Links (and there's quite a few as I'm still catching up from the holidays):

Cleveland's Terrible Stain - The New York Times has a strong editorial on the failure to indict anyone in the killing of 12-year old Tamir Rice in Cleveland.

Tamir Rice and America's Tragedy - The New Yorker looks at how the Tamir Rice killing is about more than just one tragedy.

A Farewell to The Washington Post - Longtime newsman Walter Pincus looks at the effect of how public relations are influencing journalism.

Racial Prejudice is Driving Opposition to Paying College Athletes - You likely know I believe college athletes should be paid. Statistically, minorities are more likely to support paying college athletes.

New Expense for College Football Programs: Looking Good - I guess when you don't have to pay the players, but have millions coming in, you've got to spend it somewhere. But at least the players didn't get any.

It's Official: There Never Was a War on Cops - 2015 went down as one of the safest years on record for police, despite claims to the contrary.

The Woman Who Broke the World Record for Visiting Football Stadiums - You'll never guess why she did it.... it was Tinder.

Meet the Man Who Gave Money Away to Anyone Who Asked - Good for this guy, seriously. We could all stand to be more generous and trusting.

Why the Post Office Makes America Great  - As much as we complain about the post office (and I do, even though my dad has worked there for more than 30 years), it's reliability is the envy of much of the world.

Sportswriters: Start Criticizing Your Colleagues - Baseball writer Craig Calcaterra wants sports writing to be more than just the "toy box" of journalism and has a way to improve it.

I'm still on vacation until Wednesday (when my kid goes back to school.) Hopefully this gets back to being more regular (with more blog posts but fewer links) soon. Thanks for reading.