Blustery weather. Dark clouds. An early sunset. They all remind me of an impending winter season. Even after 21 years of living in Texas, I still get that pit-of-the-stomach feeling, that foreboding sense of a hard winter that is rapidly approaching.
For all those that think that snow and winter sound wonderful, I would offer this: try shoveling it for a winter and tell me what you think.
But when I was a kid, I looked forward to winter. There were a lot of cool things to do – no pun intended. Winter is a wonderful season if you enjoy downhill skiing, or cross country skiing, or snowboarding, or sledding, or ice skating, or hockey. I did them all in my younger years.
The legendary tales of kids playing hockey on a frozen pond? Well, that was my reality. It would be a standard nightly affair, living on the St. Lawrence River. Tunnel Bay was always frozen, and the city works department would keep it free of excess snow. After dinner, I would throw my skates over my shoulder, grab my hockey stick, and walk the three blocks to Hockey Night In Canada – small town version. There were almost always pick-up games going on. It was your moment to be Wayne Gretzky. Helmet? What helmet?
I had a number of years of skiing every weekend, taking skiing lessons and gradually working my way through my badges. I think I was on skis by the age of 8, at an age when falling down the mountain at breakneck speed just doesn’t hurt like it does when you are older. I tried cross country skiing, but frankly once you have been downhill skiing, the other is a whole lot of work. Scenic, perhaps, but a lot of exertion to go no place fast.
Snowboarding was what really caught my attention. That was back before it became trendy. I remember seeing an article about Tom Sims, the father of snowboarding, in “Skateboarding” magazine. My father was intrigued by it. After looking at the photos, he went into the basement to build one of his own. He cut up an old toboggan, put on some impromptu bike tube straps, and carved a skeg for the bottom. Off I went to test out this new contraption. It was pretty cool having the only one of those in the neighborhood.
When all else failed, as long as there was snow on the sidewalk, you could go sledding down the street. We lived at the bottom of Park Street, a steep hill that ended at the St. Lawrence River. When the mini snow plows would clear snow from the sidewalks, it made a great natural bobsled run. We would walk to the top of the hill – at the next intersection – run at full speed down the hill, and then jump on our Crazy Carpets. The Crazy Carpet was basically a plastic carpet that you would slide on on your stomach. It made for some hair-raising bobsled runs. When your face is just inches from the ground, the rush of speed is phenomenal.
Ah those were the days – when those cold winds and snow flakes signified fun times ahead. Those were the times when it was truly a pleasure to be a kid growing up in Canada in winter.
Now when the blustery weather blows in, I pause to remind myself that the warmth of the springtime sun will be upon us soon enough. Oh how times have changed.
Photo credits: Wikipedia
Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.