Don't run from the snow, embrace it

In my neighborhood, and in the neighborhoods I drove through Thursday morning, it was the kids who embraced the snow. They were the ones squealing and frolicking and improvising. Adults merely trudged through on the way to work.

As somebody who spent most of his 29 years in Minnesota, I can tell you that snow has to be embraced. You can't run from it. I mean, you can do what I did and take a pay cut and move 1,200 miles south. But, the cost of living was cheaper in Charlotte then. And I had paid my snow dues.

That was the opportunity you had Thursday morning. Let's say you decided to skip work. A good thing to do is ice fish. Here's how you ice fish. You find somebody that owns an ice house. In the house, there is heat, a hole through the ice and lots of beer.

I didn't make it to Lake Wylie or Lake Norman Thursday, but you at least have to try.

Another good thing to do in the winter is play hockey. If you can't skate, play boot hockey. I used to play in a boot hockey league. Instead of a puck you'd use a ball. You'd fly down the ice and then you're run into somebody built like a freezer and down you'd go. Then you'd get up, pledge eternal revenge and go flying after the ball again.

Alas, I'm boycotting hockey because the Charlotte Checkers traded my favorite player, Nathan Gillies, to Arizona. But you don't have to.

Snowball fights are always good. You see Brett Favre fire snowballs last Saturday at Lambeau Field? Can you imagine having a real snowball fight with him? If it were me, I'd go deep, real deep, before I even thought about firing a snowball at him.

Snowmobiling is a blast. It's easy to get lost because when you get away from civilization, all you see is snow and trees and hills. That's the beauty of it. You just go.

If you're a runner, running in the snow is entertaining. You put on layers of clothes and you go. There was a lake in Minneapolis near my house, and out on the ice I'd see the fire the fishermen used to stay warm, and when snow was falling and fire was burning the scene was absolutely surreal.

Sliding is probably the easiest of the winter pursuits. You could use a sled, a saucer or a piece of cardboard. You could tie a rope between your sled and your buddy's. And as you did you could experience such mathematical and scientific pursuits as physics and gravity.

I'll always remember going down the steep hill at Upper Lake Harriet Park in Minneapolis. At the bottom was a tennis court. As my buddy Al and I approached, I went to the left and he went to the right. It was a long rope. We sailed toward the pole to which the net is attached, me on one side and Al on the other. I thought, I wonder what will happen?

What happened is the rope stretched, the sleds stopped moving and we didn't. We were briefly like Superman, flying through the air. It was great.

You'd go home and walk in the house with your face red and snow and slush attached to your coat, pants and hair. Your reward was hot chocolate. The reason it tasted so good was that you had to earn it.

You still do.

Comments

[309-18-1-2]

amen, Tom.

So many people think in order to prove you are a "grown-up" you have to drink your coffee black, hate crowded malls at Christmas, and hate snow. Not me. And obviously, not you.

tom h.

[frattgirl2]

Thanks for a blog that brought back some great childhood memories!
Growing up in Connecticut I remember snowfalls so deep we could tunnel into the drifts, and riding metal "saucers" that would spin like crazed pinwheels as you raced down steep hills. "Course, standing up when you stopped was always dicey - but it was also half the fun.
Oh, and I was the "crazy Yankee" running around my yard about 7:30am - stopping long enough to stand still and appreciate the other gift snow brings - tranquility.

[Jay]

Nice Post Tom, Reminds me of a snow fix week end trip we took the kids to MSP from Charlotte. We of course wanted to visit the big mall and indoor roller coaster but mainly we wanted to see snow. On a quite Sunday morning we drove about 45 minutes I think north of MSP airport past the Mississippi river and St. Paul and stopped at a Walmart and asked the natives for ideas. We ended up buying the kids a couple of plastic saucers and went to a neighborhood golf course. It was great !! We put on all the winter clothes we owned and turned them loose. The golf course was covered with the white stuff but in its natural non golfing way it was beautiful and perfect for what we needed. We parked less than 50 yards from our sleding departure point and were quiet and respectful to the neighbors who shared their facilities with us. At first we thought we found a hidden area just for us but soon many others probaly mostly natives with better sleds and non motorized forms of outdoor movement shared this wonderful free facility with us tourists. After a few hours our two elementary aged students and future three sport high school athletes were flat wore out from running up hills to start on one of many sleding runs. Maybe one day we could bring the future grand kids. Thanks for the opportunity to remember your former area. Do you happen to know the name of the community or golf course I might have visited ?