Birthday Boy and Bumbo Ben

April 27th, 2009: OPERATION REDBIKE is underway. My mission... Surprise the pants off a man on his 33rd birthday... and reclothe him in spandex.

9:03 AM... Mother of the subject enters the subject's home.

9:04 AM... Secret Agent arrives and announce, "Get your clothes on! I'm ready for our date!" (Note: Subject was clothed at the time.)

9:45 AM... Subject sips on iced chai tea in Aberdeen, NC.

9:55 AM... Subject is grinning and trying not to wonder aloud.

10:47 AM... Subject peruses books and CDs in Sanford, NC.

11:40 AM... Subject finds himself trying not to freak out as Secret Agent parallel parks the vehicle on Franklin Street (Chapel Hill, NC.)

Noon... Subject and secret agent share chicken kabob, hummus, and undisclosed foods at Mediterranean Deli.

12:50...

Okay, I have to work at being clever, and I'm too tired to work, so let me just give the rest to you in prose. I pull into a parking space and tell Jason that we're here in Chapel Hill to go to the bike shop. "What for?" he asks as we're walking in. "Just look around," says me. "Look around?!" says he. And then--- the best part! Mr. Bike Shop Man approaches and asks the inevitable. "Can I help you?" YES, YOU CAN, MISTER! I am about to jump out of my skin, because Jason truly has no idea how many people are a part of this and how excited he's about to be.

"We're here to look at entry level road bikes," says me.

"We are?!" says he.

"Happy birthday!" shrieks me.

--------- says he. (Nothing. Nothing. Just following Mr. Bike Shop Man around like a puppy, probably trying not to act goofy.)

This is what he looked like when he got home.

And this is what he looked like today, when he finally got to take his first ride on the new bike. Linda, did you ever consider any other names for your little baby boy? Like, Lance, maybe?

Thanks again to everybody who contributed. I wish you'd all been there to see Jason walking out of the store repeating over and over, "I got a bike!"

Ben's growing up, too. Here he is in the Bumbo for the first time today. Big Boy Ben in the Bumbo!

And of course, somebody just couldn't miss a photo op.