Simple Pleasures
1. Recently I've gotten back in to playing ice hockey and I've been hard at it since May. Not only is it fun, but it's a source of stress relief and great source of exercise. Even Richel has noted how big my thighs are, now (it's all muscle, baby!). But I haven't played really this hard or on ice in the past 20 years, literally. And now I must admit that after playing roller hockey for 10 years, my ice hockey skills have improved considerably; I'm a better player on ice now at 30 something years old than 20 years ago when I was younger.
But ever since I've gotten back in to it in May it's been pretty warm weather, sometimes even blistering hot in the mid 90's. And in the midwest, that means high humidity, too. That also means that at the rink it's so bloody hot there that the ice turns to slush after 20 minutes. What's the point of going to the rink? Might as well play hockey in the mud wearing skates.
Well, one thing that I've been waiting all year for is for the weather to turn really cold. Most people would think I'm out of my mind for thinking something like that. But when it gets really cold, around 0 degrees C the ice turns solid and pretty hard, which makes it great for a nice smooooooth skate. And since November it's started to turn that cold. Bliss on the rink!
2. Hockey again. Back in the day when I was really in to it and just started playing, Mom, Dad, Gah, and one time even Goh came to watch me play. Well, for me it wasn't much of a show; I was a skinny teenager with sub-par skills and no experience playing against veteran adults who were twice my size and weight.
"So Goh, what do you think?" I asked Goh after one game in Belmont. I was about 14 at the time.
"....you need to choke up on your stick more," was his reply. A polite way of saying 'you kinda suck and you'll never get any goals or assists the way you play'.
But that's okay because I admit that back in the day when I was 14, I did suck. In fact, I still suck, just not as badly.
Recently Dad came over to Indy (believe it or not. It was really to help out with Dryden more than anything) and he came to watch a game. I don't know what it was because I was playing against the same group of pretty skilled guys, but that night that Dad came to watch I scored 7 goals and 5 assists. I was still playing against guys twice my size; I've never had a game like that on ice or playing roller hockey, and to have played like that with Dad watching me was icing on the cake. It didn't matter anymore that I didn't choke up on my stick.
Now it's not like I had a chip on my shoulder and I wanted to prove myself to the world or anything like that. But I guess it's one of those boyhood dreams- to play a sport in front of your Dad and make him proud ( playing with Mom watching wouldn't count - she'd be more interested in the shade of colour paint on the rink walls or something like that ).
3. Hockey again. Everytime I read about Brodeur or Gretzky or Lemieux in their autobiographies I always had an image of these kids lugging their equiptment through the snow to get to the rink. I'm not sure why, but ever since I've started playing again I've always wanted to do the same thing: lug my hockey junk with me on the way to the rink in the middle of winter through the snow. Maybe that's more to do with my preference for colder weather and my disdain for the heat and humidity. Either way, that was a simple pleasure that I've always wanted to do, something that actually became a reality last week. What's so great about it? I have no idea. I guess it just fits in with the whole experience of going to play at the rink. Hauling my equipment with me through 90 degree weather heat, wearing shorts and sandals doesn't really add to the whole image of ice and skating.
But ever since I've gotten back in to it in May it's been pretty warm weather, sometimes even blistering hot in the mid 90's. And in the midwest, that means high humidity, too. That also means that at the rink it's so bloody hot there that the ice turns to slush after 20 minutes. What's the point of going to the rink? Might as well play hockey in the mud wearing skates.
Well, one thing that I've been waiting all year for is for the weather to turn really cold. Most people would think I'm out of my mind for thinking something like that. But when it gets really cold, around 0 degrees C the ice turns solid and pretty hard, which makes it great for a nice smooooooth skate. And since November it's started to turn that cold. Bliss on the rink!
2. Hockey again. Back in the day when I was really in to it and just started playing, Mom, Dad, Gah, and one time even Goh came to watch me play. Well, for me it wasn't much of a show; I was a skinny teenager with sub-par skills and no experience playing against veteran adults who were twice my size and weight.
"So Goh, what do you think?" I asked Goh after one game in Belmont. I was about 14 at the time.
"....you need to choke up on your stick more," was his reply. A polite way of saying 'you kinda suck and you'll never get any goals or assists the way you play'.
But that's okay because I admit that back in the day when I was 14, I did suck. In fact, I still suck, just not as badly.
Recently Dad came over to Indy (believe it or not. It was really to help out with Dryden more than anything) and he came to watch a game. I don't know what it was because I was playing against the same group of pretty skilled guys, but that night that Dad came to watch I scored 7 goals and 5 assists. I was still playing against guys twice my size; I've never had a game like that on ice or playing roller hockey, and to have played like that with Dad watching me was icing on the cake. It didn't matter anymore that I didn't choke up on my stick.
Now it's not like I had a chip on my shoulder and I wanted to prove myself to the world or anything like that. But I guess it's one of those boyhood dreams- to play a sport in front of your Dad and make him proud ( playing with Mom watching wouldn't count - she'd be more interested in the shade of colour paint on the rink walls or something like that ).
3. Hockey again. Everytime I read about Brodeur or Gretzky or Lemieux in their autobiographies I always had an image of these kids lugging their equiptment through the snow to get to the rink. I'm not sure why, but ever since I've started playing again I've always wanted to do the same thing: lug my hockey junk with me on the way to the rink in the middle of winter through the snow. Maybe that's more to do with my preference for colder weather and my disdain for the heat and humidity. Either way, that was a simple pleasure that I've always wanted to do, something that actually became a reality last week. What's so great about it? I have no idea. I guess it just fits in with the whole experience of going to play at the rink. Hauling my equipment with me through 90 degree weather heat, wearing shorts and sandals doesn't really add to the whole image of ice and skating.
posted by V-Hume at 10:48 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home