MORGAN PARK — The theft of Brendan Tait's bike left him shaken, but he was smiling again just 48 hours later thanks to the kindness of a neighbor.
Brendan, 10, and three of his buddies were actually being quite careful when their bikes were swiped around 5:30 p.m. May 23 at Waldo Cooney's Pizza.
None of the three boys had bike locks, so Brendan volunteered to "stand guard" while the others went into the restaurant at 2410 W. 111th St. in Morgan Park.
When it came time to order, the fellow fourth-graders at St. Cajetan School motioned for Brendan to come in and tell them what he wanted to eat. He entered the shop and requested a slice of sausage pizza.
"I was just in the doorway for seconds," Brendan said.
In that time, a pair of teens crossed the street near the Beverly Arts Center and attempted to swipe the unattended bikes.
Howard Ludwig explains how this story ends up with a happy ending:
They tried to steal all three bikes but only got away with two, including Brendan's Dino-brand, BMX-style bike that he got as a gift for his seventh birthday.
News of the robbery spread quickly among parents via Facebook. Everyone was asked to keep their eyes open for the thieves and the stolen bikes. That's how Angel Toosley found out that Brendan's bike was missing.
The Toosleys live just one block west of the Tait family in Morgan Park, and Angel Toosley told her son Nick, a sixth-grader at St. Cajetan, about Brendan's bike being stolen.
"He said, 'I can give him my old bike,'" said Angel Toosley, who sent Brendan's mom, Jean, a Facebook message with the offer.
Jean Tait received the message that evening.
She was out with friends at a restaurant in Mount Greenwood when her phone chimed with the proposal from her former high school classmate and neighbor, prompting her to get emotional.
Nick Toosley, 12, delivered the mountain bike to his classmate on Monday. He received it four years ago for Christmas and was given a new one in March, having outgrown his previous ride.
Brendan's father, Erik Tait, was home at the time and answered the door. He asked Nick to leave the bike along the side of their house.
"I thanked him and told him he had to leave because he was about to make an old man cry," Erik Tait said.
Brendan returned home later that day. His dad told him the story and were he could find his new bike.
"I sort of test drove it," Brendan said.
In the end, Brendan was without a bike for just 48 hours. He promised to take good care of his new bike, and Nick seemed willing to hold him to his promise.
Meanwhile, the parents of all the boys involved in the robbery, including Jean Tait, have ordered locks for their kids' bikes.
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