Jayson Nuñez
Appearances
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
All right. All right, all right, all right. Okay. So it was two weeks before my birthday, and I'm sitting in my room thinking of what I wanted as a gift. And this wasn't going to be no ordinary gift because I was turning seven. And, you know, turning seven is a really big deal for me because seven is basically ten. Ten is basically a teenager. Teenager is basically an adult.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
So, you know, like adults do, I wanted to get that one expensive present that was going to last me a long time. Not like a toy set that I would play with for two months, and then next thing you know, it's collecting dust in my closet. So I go up to my parents and I'm like, hey, can we go to Toys R Us? So the next day we go to Toys R Us and they're showing me all these toys.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
There's like these jigsaw puzzles, action figures and like everything and nothing was really catching my eye. So I kind of wandered away and when I wandered away, I found myself in the bike aisle and it was just like immediate. I look up at least 20, 30 feet and I see the beautiful bumblebee yellow Hummer bike with matte black tire seat and handlebars.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
And it was like those scenes in the movies where it's like you in that one thing in a dark room and a light shining on it. You know, kind of like right now. And like my feet were gravitating towards it, but my legs weren't moving. And there was even like this angelic music in the background. Like all I heard was... And I've had my sister's bike. I've had my brother's bike.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
I've even had my dad's bike, which is, like, falling to bits and pieces at this point. So I run straight to my parents, and I'm like, hey, hey, hey, like, this is the bike that I want. And I show them. I'm, like, pointing straight up. And then they're looking up, looking at me, looking at each other, look back up, and they're like, yeah, we'll think about it.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
And I was like, I'm just telling them, like, this has to be it, even though I knew it was expensive because it was on the high, high shelf, and, like, it was one of those bikes you had to, like, contact the front desk for. So, yeah, they're like, sure, we'll think about it. And I go home, and finally my birthday comes.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
And on my birthday, unfortunately, it was on a Monday, so I had to go to school. So I went to school, came back home, and we're doing all the normal birthday things, like they're singing happy birthday, like I'm opening gifts from my brother and my sister, and then we eat dinner. And then my dad finally comes up to me, and he's like, hey, we have a surprise for you. And I'm like, a surprise?
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
For me? Like what's the occasion? And you know, he nods off my sarcasm and he's like, he brings me to the backyard. And the funny thing about our backyard is we have this like really heavy metal door and it has like five locks on it. So he's like unlocking the top lock and the middle lock and the other middle lock. And then he finally swings the huge door open and there it is.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
the beautiful bumblebee yellow Hummer bike with matte black tire seat and handlebars. And I was in complete awe, like I'm going straight to the bike. I'm like adjusting the seat for when I was going to ride it. I was touching the tires, making sure there's enough air, adjusting the gears. And I was just, you know, feeling all over the frame.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
And I literally picked up the bike and I was about to leave. And my dad looks at me, he's like, where are you going? And I'm like, going to bike ride. And he's like, no, it's like 8 p.m. You're seven years old. Not gonna happen. And you know, I was crushed. But of course I could wait. And I did wait. So the next day is Tuesday, the day after that's Wednesday and Thursday.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
And each single day, I'm like opening the curtains to our backyard and I'm looking at that bike and I'm like, Oh, coming Friday, me and you are going to have a really good experience. We're going to go everywhere. I was planning on going on the highway. I was going to go to Central Park. I was going to do everything.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
And the reason I kind of thought about that was because in my neighborhood, Washington Heights, it's really common for a lot of kids to bike around in a group. And they would do wheelies and all kinds of tricks. And I wanted to be one of those kids. I thought that was so cool. But of course, I was seven, and I definitely didn't know how to do any wheelies.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
But that's why I wanted to ride the bike so much. And, you know, Friday finally came, and I had to go to school, and I came home like a man on a mission. And I threw my bags down, and I went straight to the backyard. Top lock, middle lock, other middle lock, swing the door open. And when I swing the door open, it wasn't there. And I was really confused. I was like, well, what's going on?
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
Like, what kind of joke is this? And I look around for a little bit, and then I go to my dad, and I'm like, so where's the bike? And he's like, it should be out there. It's been there all week. And when he said that, I was like, it's not there right now. We should go look for it. And my mom and dad are really well-known in the neighborhood, so they asked around, and they talked to people.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
They were saying if anybody knew or had seen the bike. And we even hop in our car, and we're driving around for two hours. So two weeks pass, and it was really starting to settle that my bike was going to be gone forever. And it hurt me. But it really brought me back to a time when my dad had first taught me how to ride a bike. I was around four or five years old.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
And he took me to the park on a summer evening. And he was pushing me along for a little bit. And then he finally decides to let go. Of course, I didn't notice. And I'm pedaling for a little bit. And then he says, like, from a distance, he's like, you're doing it. Like, this is you. Like, you're doing it by yourself. And I look down. I'm like... Oh, this is so much better than walking.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
Like, I'm going so fast. And then, you know, I proceed to like face plant and everything, like cuts on my knees and stuff. And my dad's really big on metaphors. So he's like, you know what just happened? You just fell. And life is going to do that to you a lot. So no matter how many times life knocks you down, you got to just get right back up. And that's what I did.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
A couple days later, I called up a couple of my friends, grabbed one of my hand-me-down bikes, and we went bike riding together. We went throughout the city. I didn't pop any wheelies because I still don't have that kind of skill. Fast forward to about two years ago, I actually ended up getting my own bike, which my dad bought me. It's not yellow. It's black. It's electric. And it does the job.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: The Big Reveal
And I still fall off that bike, but I get right back up. Thank you.