Dirt Bike Disaster

No such thing as a stupid question? I am not sure if I can completely agree with that statement… I know that many teachers like the beloved Luchini (who bravely teaches the English one students) will say that there is no such thing as a stupid question. He will always answer every question but I have heard many pointless, obvious, or questionable questions at school, work, Jiu Jitsu, and just about everywhere. I believe I have asked many stupid questions as well, though sometimes I do keep my questions to myself, in fear that someone will think it is stupid. I live in a small rural town in central Maine, there is not much to do around this area so in the spring after my 14th birthday my moms generous boyfriend bought a dirt bike for the family, he let me ride it once… I have driven snowmobiles, four wheelers, etc. my entire life, so my mom’s boyfriend just expected me to know how to ride a dirt bike, but of course that was the time I had no idea what to do. Those things are complicated but I could figure out how to start it, shift, use the breaks and all of that fun stuff. The next thing I realized was the one thing I didn’t know how to use was how to use the gas, I know it sounds stupid but I could not, for the life of me, figure out how to accelerate! It was unlike anything I have ever driven before.
Seeing as someone could have walked at the same pace I was driving it was kind of embarrassing, maybe they thought I was nervous, maybe they thought there were too many bumps on the road. They may not have thought all these things, maybe they would have never noticed. But I never did ask the question to my moms boyfriend of “How do I use the gas?”. Eventually upon reflection I figured out that I did not as the question in fear of looking stupid. To him using the gas is such an obvious thing, I mean it seems like it would be way easier than trying to shift in my opinion! I was so embarrassed and I had a feeling he would definably laugh at me if I had asked him, this is because he has been driving different vehicles his whole life, and he is also a mechanic so it is all natural to him. So I stayed in silence and miserably putted around the yard with the bike in first gear.
Eventually I started to regret not asking that “stupid” question that may have not been so stupid afterall.I have a feeling if I just asked the question, he might have laughed, but I probably would have had much more fun by being able to actually ride around, faster than 3 miles per hour… I suppose I still believe it is true that there is such thing as a stupid question, but some questions, as stupid as they are, should just be asked even if you get laughed at.

Photo by so4_klf on Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA