SKATING

I'm wishing I still had my old ice skates - they would be hanging on my front door this Christmas season. During my teen years my friends and I spent a lot of time at the ice rink. The city would flood it about this time of the year, and if memory serves me, it stayed frozen until Spring. It seems our winters were colder back in "the good old days."

It was about a five or six block walk with the snow crunching under my feet, so before I hit the ice my toes were already cold. There was a small building there called a warming house, but there was really nothing warm about it. Mainly it was a place to get out of the wind, and it was a place for couples to find a little privacy.

The rink provided an important gathering place for teens during that era. Other than a Friday night ballgame, there weren't very many opportunities to get together. That is hard to imagine with the busy lifestyles that todays kids lead.

So, I have fond memories of that place, skating round and round, back and forth, frontwards and backwards, hoping that special fella would come along and skate with you.

I don't have any pictures of me or my friends skating, but I have several of my dad. He and his siblings skated on the Brule Creek that flowed right by their home. I have a very beat up hockey puck that they used for a little game of ice hockey.

Evidentally ice skating has provided entertainment for several generations.

(Skate photo from opulentcottage.typepad.com)

Until next time...
Blessings,

Gail