It was a winter afternoon like so many before it, and since. Since is relevant, because it proves that life goes on, with or without us.
He was in the habit of wind sprinting from the school bus to the house, eating rabidly, grabbing the hockey skates and stick, and rumbling down to the lakeshore in an effort to have the ice to himself.
It was a cold day but the sun shined brightly across the windswept ice, coated with a fresh inch or two. Lacing up was important and took a proper moment. He wished he had worn his warmer coat, but the goose down vest and elbow high hockey gloves would suffice.
Once pushed off the shore he dug in hard on the sharpened edges and began to instantly feel the strain in his thighs, though young and strong then, they would still respond to the initial strain and burn. After five or six thrusts he would lean into the long glide, sometimes reversing and skating backwards for show. But there was no show that day, not a body in sight.
When he built up speed he would pull the two skates side by side and dig the edges sharply into the ice to stop abruptly causing the snow to rooster tail in the air. This must have been quite a sight, if only for he to relish in.
On one of these maneuvers he began to bend and sink into a ferocious stop only to see the snow fly high and the ice break wide open. He was suddenly thrust under the surface of the frigid water at an angle and with such momentum that when he kicked to the surface he hit his head on the ice, a couple feet east of the hole.
After shaking off the clumsy hockey gloves he reached out and grabbed the broken edge and pulled himself to air and sun. Each time he tried to pull himself up on the solid ice it would only break off, soon leaving a large 15’ wide opening, suitable for a watery grave.
He remembers skating one day weeks before and crossing over a perfectly preserved Golden Retriever frozen a few inches below the surface. Fortunately his fate would be different and he would live for awhile yet, though notably less arrogant on his hockey skates.
Please feel free to e-mail a comment to chasingthecenterline@gmail.com
