This past Saturday found your diarist on the Jersey shore. Of course I brought my skates along and as luck would have it, I was able to make the 12:30 to 2:30 pm public session at a rink in Atlantic City. As is the case at most rinks this time of year, the Flyers Skate Zone was heaving with skaters, mostly either in rentals or hockey skates. Crowded though it was, one could sneak in useful practice by being patient and being positioned in the right place at the right time. I worked on single foot spins either in the center circle or just outside of it. After a couple of wind-ups the kids with EZ-skaters tended to give me a wide berth.
The population density was high enough that rink management decided to do an ice cut at the halfway point. I took this pause as an opportunity to retie my boots. I found a seat in the lobby and was attending to that task when I overheard a conversation between a 12 year old boy and his father. The boy had on skates and was nagging his dad to rent some and come join him on the ice. Father: "Na, I'm too old for that stuff. I don't wanna fall and get hurt." Boy: "Dad, come-on, you're not that old; I mean like there's this really old man out there. He's waaaay older than you are and he's doing pirouettes and stuff."
"Pirouettes" indeed. Sounds terribly balletic when applied to a stiff geezer skater. Sigh, it always warms my heart to learn that I've been an inspiration for someone!
Which leads me to inspiration Nr 2. Upon returning home and going through the accumulated newspapers I found the following article in the Washington Post's KidsPost section. Perhaps you can share it with a young skater or two: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/2015/01/15/1d49ec7a-977d-11e4-aabd-d0b93ff613d5_story.html
