By KC Smith

Cooleemee Correspondent

Hey, who is that guy? Here he comes again.

I hollered at him and he turned around.

I’ve being seeing this man riding down the sidewalk in front of my house on Marginal Street almost daily. He rides one of those electric bikes, it’s white, he doesn’t go very fast, and guess what?

He doesn’t ride alone.

Standing on the middle bar right up against him is a 4-year-old girl with blonde curly hair.  She holds onto the handle bars and there is always a small bag. I told him who I was and I asked if he was from Cooleemee.  He said, “Yes ma’am, right down here on Davie Street.”

The man’s name is Darren Cline and the cute little girl that rides along is Bristol Williams, his granddaughter.

You’re probably thinking, I see people riding bikes all day everyday.  But this is different.

Not only is the ride consistent, but there’s always a quiet and sweet conversation going on between those two.  The grandfather comes across as attentive, has a soft voice, one that you would expect from a grandfather.

Cline said she loved riding the bike. “It’s what she likes to do. She probably really likes stopping to get a few things at the store.”

Sometime later in life, she is going to reflect on those sweet hot summer bike rides down Marginal Street with her grandfather and how happy she was.

Picking Bristol a small bouquet of daisies from my floral garden was a given, because she makes me stop and say, “ahhh” every week.

Contact me at www.cooleemeenews@gmail.com, or call at 336.250.1133. I’d love to hear from you.