I had an experience similar to that of Don Gilles on my red Schwinn. I had just gotten braces and was cautioned not to eat caramels for fear of bending them, In 1939 bike helmets for kids were in the future, but I was wearing a cloth aviator style helmet with round metal goggles. I had attached a playing card to the front fork with a spring clothespin for engine sounds. At that moment I was Ace Drummond, Eddie Rickenbacker\u2019s wing man, racing down the sidewalk in full pursuit of a Fokker Tridecker when my engine cut out. I reached out with my foot to adjust the card**--- When I regained consciousness, I was face down on the sidewalk with the bike on top of me. My lip was split open, braces bent with loose cracked front teeth, nose bleeding, a lump on the back of my head, and bruises from the goggle frames. When the stars cleared, I rode around for a long time before I got the courage to go home and show my face to the folks. Fortunately no one saw the crackup so I was spared that embarrassment, but wouldn\u2019t you know a bunch of relatives were there when I got home.
George Jones Dallas, TX USA