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Column

More than just a dirt bike was taken

By ANDREW SKERRITT, Times Columnist
Published September 4, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Keri Wiginton] Cassandra Stetson, 41, sits with her son Niklas, 13, at their Brooksville home. Niklas' black dirt bike was stolen from their home on Aug. 13. The two are hoping the bike is returned. "I would have rather they stole something from me and not my son," said Cassandra, who gave the bike to her son last Christmas.

Fliers are posted all over the neighborhood: Stolen dirt bike. Please return. No questions asked. There is a picture of a skinny kid in a helmet seated on the bike.

For a Brooksville mother and her son, losing that dirt bike was a watershed moment, when childhood innocence ended and the harsh realities of adolescence began.

Cassandra Stetson lives with her son Niklas, 13, in a rented home off Powell Road, west of Spring Lake. It's a modest neighborhood of well-kept mobile homes. You can hear wild animals scurrying around at night, roosters crowing at dawn.

You can hear yourself think.

People live out here in part so they can enjoy the freedom to ride a dirt bike or a 3-wheeler. Nobody minds.

Stetson, 41, is a carpenter between jobs. Even though she's unemployed, she's self-sufficient and knows how to survive. When her Ford pickup needed a major tuneup, she went under the hood. When a cyclist damaged her fence, she repaired it. When the kitchen plumbing broke, she didn't need to call the landlord.

As a single mother, she has to be creative. It takes imagination to make Christmas special for Niklas and his two older sisters, but she manages.

Last year, Niklas wanted a dirt bike from Santa. It meant macaroni and cheese, lots of beans for dinner. But Stetson saved for five months. Finally, with $579, she found a no-name bike on eBay.

"It was the best I could do," she said.

The bike was supposed to arrive last Dec. 22, but it didn't. To have it under the tree in time for Christmas morning, Stetson had to drive seven hours each way to a warehouse on the Tennessee-Georgia border to pick it up.

But when Niklas awoke at 3 a.m. Christmas morning, Santa had delivered.

Even at 13, Niklas believed in old Saint Nick. Niklas is homeschooled and sheltered somewhat by his more cynical peers. His older sister believed until she was 15. You might say it was about time that Niklas wised up, but every parent wants to choose the time and the place when their child learns the truth. For mom and son, the stolen dirt bike forced their hand.

A few Sundays ago, Niklas left the dirt bike in a dog house in the yard. The next morning the bike was missing. The only sign of where it went was the tire tracks across the grass.

Niklas was heartbroken at first. He wondered whether Santa might be able to replace it this Christmas.

That's when mom sat him down and explained. Not this year, son. Santa can't deliver this year. Mom is Santa.

And so it is that this thief stole more than just a dirt bike.

He stole something much more irreplaceable.

He stole a child's innocence.

Number to call

If you have information, call (727) 919-3038.

[Last modified September 3, 2007, 20:28:06]