The Perfect Snow (follow-up)

That was a blast!

Okay, doing it was a blast. Frankly, a steeper hill with a little more speed would have been more thrilling. Maybe a mountain. Maybe if I were wearing skis….

But still, I went out to do a thing, and doing that thing was fun.

I also think that 9 or 10 hikes back up The Hill more than made up for the aerobic exercise I otherwise missed at lunch.

There was a group of 5 guys like myself – clearly not in their teens. They had a variety of hardware, and jested about the success of my ultra-economy equipment. (Adding a trashcan liner to the cardboard increased my speed and distance immensely!!) The six of us contested with each other, and commented on the “silly youth” who walk back up the middle of the hill, oblivious to the fact that they are blocking the run for others.

As I paused to rest during one of the up-hikes, I solidified what my interest in doing this was: community. Here being a group of assorted people of all ages, gender and finance, assembled in one place and sharing one goal. And, I was a part of that.

I helped recover a sled for a youngster who did NOT want to slide down the hill after it. I grabbed a teen by the hood and helped drag him up the ice-encrusted launch zone (he could not master the concept of cutting the edges of his boots into the slope). I let a group of 4 girls into The Building so they could warm up and use the head.

Did I make a difference? In those moments, yes. In their lives…. maybe. I helped to create a different community than would have been if I did not go. If nothing else, there was one MORE person on the hill that day, who had a good time at no one’s expense.

Its like why I ride my bike through the “less than safe” parts of the city. When I am riding, I can say there’s at least ONE person there who is not out to hurt somebody. ONE person there who is not out to hurt themselves. And that makes that a better neighborhood for at least the time it takes me to wander thru. And MAYBE that might make a difference to someone who sees me, and was thinking about hurting themselves or someone else. And MAYBE they’d change their mind.

And if not? Then at least my bike ride did no one any harm. The results came out as they otherwise would have. And, I still got some exercise in. And enjoyed the ride.

And created for my self the opportunity for adventure. Like today. What if someone had seriously hurt themselves? Not 911 bad, but maybe bloodied their nose? Who else there could have gotten into The Building and got them first aid? …okay, granted, thats not adventure, quite.. its heroic…okay, its just kind. BUT STILL! I think you get the point….

Love thy neighbor. You gotta go be with them before you can show them love.

Also, it reminded me of skiing, and that brought back memories of Dad.

Dad, I miss you. Thank you for exposing me to so much. Thank you for making me ski even when I was cold and tired and 7 years old and bawling. I might never have enjoyed timber-bashing with you in later years if you hadn’t. I might never have connected a lot of things.

Anyway, I’ve always enjoyed snow. Building tunnels in the field across the street that one winter when we got feet and feet of snow. Why did we lose a machete out there?

My brother (and a friend) built an igloo in the front yard once, way back when he was in junior high. They wouldn’t let me enter it. But 4 days later, the sun was high, and the center of the igloo was low. I got in then, and slid under the sagging bubble, and just lay there. It was pretty cool. I’m still proud of my brother for building a 4 day igloo! (the snow in the grass had already melted off!)

And of course, there are all of the ski trips. Those were little worlds of wonder in and of themselves. And the snow was fun too.

I’m not sure when the last time was that I had been sledding on The Hill, but I remember one of the first times was with my brother and my dad, way back when…

It was the perfect snow.