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Winter weather is delightful in many ways, I’ll grant that to the skiers and mushers who love arctic vistas. Snow changes the landscape in unexpected and sometimes spectacular ways. There are mysterious shadows of bare trees in the moonlight and subtle blue tints never seen in summer. An observant person who lives near the woods can see the tracks of rabbits, deer, otter, squirrels and school children. Sweaters, Polartec and long johns have come out of storage to help us stay warm. A sunny day is brilliantly light and wel come.
But the sidewalks and paths and parking lots have icy patches.. You just know they are there, lurking underfoot waiting to attack the slightly misplaced foot. I am not especially prone to broken bones, but I am prone to falling. I have been known to tiptoe, carry a cane, stay in the house for weeks on end, and, on one notable occasion crawl to my car on hands and knees rather than risk the slithering, sudden, humiliating, inevitable yearly slip on the ice. The sidewalks are just as icy this year, perhaps more so - it appears we will never reach a thaw. There could be ice on the sidewalk in August! There’s a difference, however. I might fall down but I don’t hide from the ice. I go right out and walk on it, breathing in an even rhythm, gliding along knowing that if I do fall down, I am more than likely to get back up again unbroken though perhaps bruised. The reason this long-standing (or long-falling) fear of ice has melted away? Figure skaters! Skaters doing spins, lifts, triple toe loops, quadruple jumps and all sorts of movements most people can’t do on or off the ice. Even more, the casual way those athletes skate onto the ice, arms in the air in greeting, and skate off again after their performances, after triumphs or falls. They are graceful and dressed in beautiful clothes - not covered in padding like the suited-up hockey players. No, the figure skaters in their sequins stroll and soar as if treacherous ice were absolutely friendly. If it is humanly possible for a human being to jump and dance on the ice, then it is possible for me to walk to my mailbox without being stricken with panic, dread, and twisted ankles. I got to meet a competitive figure skater this year, Shepherd Clark, whose picture accompanies this essay. Acquaintance with Shepherd led me to a real interest in skating - not as something I could ever do, but as something I can admire and from which I can learn, inspired by skaters’ skill, courage. and graceful determination on that slippery surface. I have borrowed balance - not Shepherd’s breathtaking balance - but the hope of balance, just enough to make it to the mailbox and back. Thank you, Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen, Michael Weiss, the pairs and the ice dancers, Todd Eldredge, Sonja Henie, Scott Hamilton and Shepherd - in fact every one of the skaters who’ve ever taken to the ice! Baseball may be our national sport, and it is certainly a great sport, but it will never teach you how to cross the road in winter and pick yourself up again after you have fallen into a heap in front of all your friends and neighbors. For that, you need figure skating! Learn to stay balanced however you can - we know the ice will be back for a rematch next season! |
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Jean Blake White is a regular contributor to The Meadow, Customer Support for Life Balance, and a painter of snow scenes. The photograph of Shepherd Clark is copyright Irene Ersek and used by permission.
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