My older daughter and I took a short road trip to shop for camping gear at REI today. As soon as we walked in the front door of the store, I was bowled over by an old memory that I had nearly forgotten. It probably happened 15 years ago. When our two oldest kids were pretty young, we all went to an REI to look at some product related to biking. I can’t remember what it was. Maybe we were just browsing in general. Anyway, somehow one of us leaned on a bike and it fell over. And when it fell, it bumped the next bike over. And that bike bumped the next bike over and on and on. We started a domino fall of all the bikes in the store. It was hilarious and mortifying. I had nearly forgotten about that memory.
That old memory surging into my consciousness was both pleasant and stinging. And the odd thing is that my brain immediately and simultaneously calculated the observation that REI no longer stands bikes up on kick stands in a row. And so after the shock, I felt relief. Every bike not on training wheels is secured on a rack or hanging from the ceiling. I imagine it’s been that way for many years now. I like to think REI has us to thank for that improvement of their bike display.
Downhill Family 
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