Winter skating....

As the world turns us away from the warm rays of the sun, it is time for us to embrace (or try to anyway) the cold winter moths ahead. Months full of lazily sitting around with nothing to do, waiting, hoping for the season ahead. I say it’s time to change that lazily sitting around. It’s time to take control and say “I will not let Senor Winter ruin my life for 3 months!” How can we do this??? We skate. Over the years of married and family life I have become pretty much a bean bag chair to my kids. I guess my gut is squishy and comfortable to sit on. It has also become a resting place for bottles of SODA (what did you think I was going to say, got to keep it PG right?). It has gotten to the point that I can almost just let the bottle sit there without holding it at all. I know, I know, pretty sad. No very sad. I have become so immobile that my body screams at me at the slightest hint of exercise. Almost like it is confused and doesn’t know what to do. I’m not sure that my heart has even beaten for the last 8 years. I just assume it has because I am still breathing. Like I said, though, time to change. This winter will be different. I will take control, and I will skate. Back in the 90’s when I was skating it didn’t matter what season it was, heck it didn’t even matter if it was raining or snowing. Out the shovels would come and along with them the boards. And after a half hour of skating, we would be in shorts and T-shirts in the middle of winter. Oh for the days of yore! The days when I had some energy, time, and I would say money but I’ve never had much if any of that. How I do long for the days when I didn’t get winded after running for 5 feet, which is only like 3 steps. Again, very sad and pathetic. But now I will do my best to get out and enjoy my self once again. I will be hitting the Rye Airfield at least a couple times a month and I might just try to be brave and skate outside like I used to. That will probably only happen if I have my supports behind me, Randy and Jared. Two friends who I have gotten to know in my adult life, post-skating Marcel. The Marcel that loves Single Malts and beer. Maybe a little of those will help me get out in the cold too. But I will skate this winter and my goal of ollying while moving is still there. Hopefully I won’t chicken out and be afraid of the pain, something that didn’t bother me before. Man getting old is terrible. I digress. Jared and Randy need to know the skating Marcel, the one that wasn’t afraid to drop in on a vert ramp or bowl. The one that wasn’t afraid to take a couple slams to land that new trick. They will see that side of me. It will just take some time. No, I am not at all saying that I will become fearless and become a great skater. That just isn’t going to happen because honestly I don’t think my tolerance for pain is very high, I’m kind of a wuss. I just want to be like all other skaters, pushing yourself to do something you are afraid to or think you can’t do. Challenging yourself to be better. I need to reinvent myself and get back to some semblance of a healthy human being. The only way I really want to do that is to skate, and skate I will. Here’s to the old, fat guys who want to do something about it! HERE! HERE! I will be waiting for you with board in hand, or under foot and hopefully ollying while moving!