Canadian moment
My daughter had to drop by work to pick up her paycheck before we went shopping tonight, so I drove her over and waited in the car. I live in a small town on the Canadian Prairies, which is changing quite rapidly these last few years. Downtown used to be the main shopping area, with stores strung along Main Street and maybe one street to either side. Now the development is all along the highway, and the older buildings downtown are falling empty. We still do things the old way a lot of the time though, and one "old way" is for the town to plow and flood several flat spots here and there to make outdoor skating rinks. One of them is in a vacant lot, just behind the library where my daughter works, in the old part of downtown.
The sun had just set, and our long twilight was beginning - it takes quite a long time to get dark this time of year, partly because all the snow keeps the light. Over on the rink were half a dozen teenage boys, lacing up. They started to play a game of shinny - they had one net, but the other goal was marked by someone's boots tucked into the snowbank, just the way we used to when I was a kid. The glow of the sunset behind them outlined the old buildings. This part of town still looks much like it did in the forties - small buildings with false fronts. If you remember the town in the movie "Brokeback Mountain" - it's like that. (in fact the exterior town shots in that movie were filmed not far down the highway from my home). Up until a few years ago, there would have been a grain elevator framed by that sunset, but the old wooden elevators that were such a part of our landscape are almost all gone - ours went in 2000.
The old buildings are being torn down in most prairie towns, and there aren't that many outdoor rinks anymore. Kids go to the big indoor rink, or they stay home and play video games. These boys, though, had walked at least three blocks in order to play hockey in the dusk. They were having a good time - I'm sure they had no idea how much the sight of them pleased the old lady sitting in her van.
The sun had just set, and our long twilight was beginning - it takes quite a long time to get dark this time of year, partly because all the snow keeps the light. Over on the rink were half a dozen teenage boys, lacing up. They started to play a game of shinny - they had one net, but the other goal was marked by someone's boots tucked into the snowbank, just the way we used to when I was a kid. The glow of the sunset behind them outlined the old buildings. This part of town still looks much like it did in the forties - small buildings with false fronts. If you remember the town in the movie "Brokeback Mountain" - it's like that. (in fact the exterior town shots in that movie were filmed not far down the highway from my home). Up until a few years ago, there would have been a grain elevator framed by that sunset, but the old wooden elevators that were such a part of our landscape are almost all gone - ours went in 2000.
The old buildings are being torn down in most prairie towns, and there aren't that many outdoor rinks anymore. Kids go to the big indoor rink, or they stay home and play video games. These boys, though, had walked at least three blocks in order to play hockey in the dusk. They were having a good time - I'm sure they had no idea how much the sight of them pleased the old lady sitting in her van.
6 Comments:
I grew up in Anchorage, and we used to ice skate in the dark with floodlights turned on. Only a few hours of light in the winter. It was so much fun! It seems like it was colder then. I remember -40 several winters. Not so much, now.
They would flood the playground at the schools, so we could skate. For a while, Goose Lake froze solid enough to skate on! YaY! Thanks for the memories!
By veronikkamarrz, Jan 19 09 10:53 PM
What a great image, us southern folk just shiver we don't often realize that when its cold a lot you find a way to enjoy it, you just showed us one of those. Thanks
By garrysouders, Jan 20 09 6:39 AM
Oh, what an amazingly quaint picture you have drawn! I had a similar moment just a few minutes ago. My children awoke to heavy snowfall (just a few inches, but that's HUGE for us) and their laughter and joy was a sight to behold!
By Pagiedamon, Jan 20 09 7:30 AM
Lovely narrative, Agony. You drew me in wonderfully. Drew me in, and took me back. I grew up in Colorado. As a very young child, I remember squirting water out the kitchen window onto a scant 8'x 12' patio slab. 20 minutes later, in the chill of winter, we had our own personal (although tiny) skating rink. We often skated on the lakes in the area. They were rough and bumpy without the aid of a shiny Zamboni, but we delighted anyway. My town was so much like yours, that you drew me back to a lovely pastoral memory. Many thanks!
By bobcat88, Jan 20 09 8:05 AM
What a wonderful story, agony. Memories of hockey on the frozen creeks and the bay here, skating until we could no longer feel our toes, but so worth it. Even getting yelled at and told on by my older brothers for 'stealing their hockey stuff' was worth it. I can almost feel like I was in that van with you. Two old ladies enjoying a walk back in time. Thank you!
By jordandog, Jan 20 09 9:02 AM
I reread your blog, it is so delightful and the very reason I love this site. And Bob your little skating rink made me smile, I did something very much like that and busted my butt, oh what fun.
By garrysouders, Jan 21 09 3:53 AM