Thursday, February 11, 2010

Slow this sled down!

I was hanging on to my Flexible Flyer sled for dear life as Suicide Hill was packed down with in layers of ice and powdery snow. I slowly got my breath back after finally slowing down after sailing down the hill, then cruising along the snow covered driveway behind the apartments and finally stopping on Biddison lane. It was so much fun I did again and again that winter of 1968 and again the winter of 1969 and 1970.

The alley on Bayonne Avenue was great in the winter too. After a heavy snow, cars would drive up and down the alley because many families had parking pads at the back of their house. The cars weight packed the snow down and so at night the alley was slick with ice and snow. There were always somebody to sleigh ride with, we could always make trains or play demolition derby on the way down the alley. My neighborhood was made up of semi-detached houses built for the men returning from WWII who could get mortgages through the GI Bill. It was a great neighborhood to grow up.

Such were the thoughts that ran through my mind tonight when I was shoveling out the parking pad behind my house and I noticed the snow packed alley. Isn't it amazing how memories of youth bubble up when you least expect it. Do you have favorite memories of sleigh riding or snowball fights, ice skating or playing in the snow?