Born to Fight--The True Story of Richy 'Crazy Horse' Horsley Read Online Free PDF Page A

Tommy from over the road. David kept on calling him names, nothing physical mind, but then again, these were some nasty names! David didn’t realise, however, that Tommy had a boiling point, which he hit one day after a flurry of insults. Tommy had had enough. The lid on the pressure cooker blew right off. He ran over the road like a madman and started laying into David, ramminghome a flurry of fists in his face. David ended up in tears, but he did learn a valuable lesson that day. To my knowledge he never picked on or underestimated anyone ever again.
    After that little lesson, David and I got to be good friends. We used to ride our bikes together around the neighbourhood. This wasn’t long after the film
Easy Rider,
which exerted quite a bit of influence on me, and instilled a longing for a Harley Davidson chopper motorcycle. I wanted to imagine myself as one of the film’s lead characters, either Wyatt or Billy, played respectively by the excellent Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. The closest I got to realise this dream was back in 1971 when the Chopper bicycle was the craze throughout the nation. The big padded seat was comfortable for your backside, and even had gears! It really didn’t take a big stretch of the imagination to think of yourself as one of the gang from
Easy Rider
on a Harley. Every time that I saw someone riding a Chopper, I just used to stare at the bike and wish that it were mine. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to wait too long.
    Christmas mornings followed a familiar pattern in our house. Just as the sun was rising, my mam and dad would shout up to me from downstairs to look out of the window. They’d shout, ‘There’s Santa.’ Dad would ring a bell and pretend that it was the sound from Santa’s sleigh.
    I would excitedly jump out of bed, and look out of thebedroom window into the dark morning, fully expecting to see Santa and his reindeers magically flying through the air. Maybe he would even spot me and give a wave. ‘I can’t see him,’ I’d proclaim in sadness. Then the bells would stop. He must have gone to someone else’s house, I would think, but I also knew that he hadn’t forgotten me. I’d run downstairs and into the room whilst still in my pyjamas, and start opening the prezzies. The excitement was unbelievable and my parents used to buzz as they watched my face beaming up at them in joy.
    This Christmas, however, was slightly different. I was playing with my presents when my parents told me to go into the kitchen to see what I wanted for breakfast. ‘You just pick me something,’ I snapped, but they insisted I had a look. I rushed to the kitchen just to get this chore out of the way so that I could get back to my prezzies. ‘I’ll have Ready Bre …’ I was then frozen in my tracks by the sight of something that I shall never forget! There it stood in its entire glory, gleaming, brand spanking new and blue. This was the present I had been dreaming of, the one I had asked Santa for in my letter to him, but never thought I’d actually get. A Chopper bike! There was a card attached to it that read: ‘From Mam, Dad and Santa’. I wanted to jump straight on it and go out for a ride but Mam and Dad said, ‘Have some breakfast first, and then get ready.’
    Were they kidding or what, have some breakfast first?I couldn’t wait to get out on it and show it off to the other kids. I gulped down my brekkie, and rushed out the door on my Chopper. I went straight over to David’s, eager for him to see my new Chopper, so that he’d wish that he could have one just like it too. David’s door opened and I waited in anticipation for him to come out. He came out first and then his dad followed with … David’s new bike! When I saw it, I nearly fell off mine. I couldn’t believe it. It was a brand spanking new gleaming blue replica of my Chopper! What? He had one too! They were so similar that you couldn’t tell them apart. In the end, David’s dad got him some stickers with