“Sledding is the closest we can get to flying without wings.”
The cold will be with us for a while, not unexpectedly. It is winter after all. I wore a fleece top out yesterday, as close as I get to a winter coat. I always think of winter as the flannel and corduroy season. I even wear socks. Yesterday I donned my boots for the first time this winter and last winter.
When I lived in Ghana, I missed the fall the most, the colors, the crisp morning air and the flowers in the fall garden. I never missed summer. I was living a perpetual summer. I never missed winter either. I used to tell my students about snow. They couldn’t imagine snow. They thought seeing your own breath in the cold air was funny, but they could imagine that, thinking of it as smoke.
When I went traveled through South America and crossed the equator, I pass from summer to winter. The mornings were chilly, but the days never got that cold. I had a hoodie with me and only had to wear it a few times. I would guess that’s where my love for hoodies started. When I flew from Lima, Peru to Cusco, the plane flew over the Andes. I could see the shadow of the plane on the mountains. I could see snow.
When I was a kid, I enjoyed winter. I could ice skate or go sledding and if my world was snowless, I could ride my bike. I loved sliding on patches of ice. I’d run as fast as I could and skid on the ice hoping to go the whole way without falling.
When I was in high school, my friends Jimmy and Bobby and I would go tobogganing on the golf course. I remember one ride down one hill, the killer hill. We were undaunted by its name. Bobby steered. I was in the middle, and Jimmy pushed us off then got on behind me. The snow had a bit of ice so we whizzed down the hill. What we didn’t know was there a smaller hill, toward the bottom of the big hill. We hit that hill and went airborne. We lost contact with the sled for a bit. Jimmy fell backwards. Part of him was still on the sled. I was holding his legs. The rest of him was dragged behind the sled. We couldn’t stop the sled. It stopped itself. Poor Jimmy was in pain, his back. He needed help getting up and walking. We didn’t take another run. KiIler hill had lived up to its name.
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
February 16, 2024 at 10:41 am
Hi Kat,
The last couple of days have been springtime in February. Yesterday, the high temperature was 71°. Unfortunately, a cold front is coming and will drop our temperatures down into highs of the 40° range which is more normal for February.
The first time I flew to São Paulo Brazil it was the 10th of July. All the flights to South America are red eye flights. I can’t sleep in an economy seat so I caught up on every movie I missed that year. When I arrived in the morning I ate something in the hotel restaurant and stayed up to get a good night sleep before teaching a class the following day. I fell asleep about three in the afternoon and didn’t get a wake up call. When I awoke, I noticed it was pitch dark outside and I thought I had slept too long. Then, I looked at my watch and it was only five o’clock. I then realized that I was in the southern hemisphere and July 10th is close to their shortest day of the year. 🙂
February 16, 2024 at 10:01 pm
Hi Bob,
I’m not sure I’d label a 40° range as a cold front. Around here that feels like spring. We have been in the high 30’s during the day and lower at night. Today we had a heavy northern wind which made it feel even colder.
We, my friend and I, flew to Caracas at the start of my trip. From there we traveled the continent. We flew home out of Rio. I don’t think it was a red eye. Going home was a long flight. I think at some point I fell asleep, but usually I don’t sleep on long flights. The exception was my flight to Finland. It was during the time when planes were seldom filled. I went to the back of the plane, put up the arm rests and fell asleep across the row of seats. I think being able to stretch out helped.
February 17, 2024 at 9:58 am
These days, all the flights from the U.S. and Canada to South America are red eyes flights. This is because the airlines have fortress hub airports and during the day passengers are fed into the hub airport and then they fly out to South American destinations at night. The same applies to the return trips. This way the passengers arrive at the hub airport in the morning and then can fly out to their destinations. Delta hubs are Atlanta, Detroit, JFK, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, and Portland Oregon. American hubs are DFW, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami.
February 17, 2024 at 10:56 pm
I flew out of Kennedy to Caracas. It wasn’t all that long a flight. Going home from Rio took much longer
February 16, 2024 at 4:31 pm
We had a wood sledge with metal runners. It wasn’t lightweight nor did it have a steering mechanism but there were times it could get going and usually pitch us at the end of the run.
Yesterday was rubbish snow, wet and heavy, good for a heart event and likely to clog the snow blower
This weekend starts the 90 day cycle of granddaughter birthdays with a 1st birthday celebration coming on Sunday. The Prince will be in attention. He got an offer to play Division 3 football but isn’t saying much to his Pumpa who wants to know ! It’s at a really good liberal arts school with national ranking so I hope he takes it seriously
February 16, 2024 at 10:11 pm
My Dear Hedley,
My sled was exactly the same as yours. The steering wasn’t fancy. It was a piece of wood at the top of the sled. You could only turn it left and right and hope for the best.
I remember the first sledding day of the year. My sled had been stored in the cellar and the runners got rusty. I left a trail of rust behind me, but eventually it disappeared as I sledded.
If I already told you, forgive me. My grandnephew Ryder got a full scholarship from Bates. The coach told him that that he and the other incoming freshmen would help to fuel winning seasons. He committed last October. Signing Day was a big event at his high school last week. Four guys from his team got a variety of scholarships.
When they had that lockdown at Bates, a while back, the coach called him to tell him not to worry. The school was not involved. It was precautionary.
We are so thrilled to have him here on the East Coast. They play Tufts in October so I’ll go see the game.