Ice Skating 12-14-10

I was late for our 1:30 PM meeting time on Dec 14 at the food court at MacArthur Center mall, so when I got into the table area encircled by all the fast food vendors, there was already an assemblage of tables and chairs cobbled together to accommodate: Frank P, Phyllis, Sandy B, Jane O, Bruce and Margaret J, Steve R, Ellis, Marti, Vic and Margaret P. We finished our fast-food choices and then broke up into a couple factions: The courageous faction that determined to brave the low thirties temps and blustery winds, and the movie-bound faction that was resistant to the lure of the blades on ice, but drawn by the warmth and the hope of a well-cushioned seat. When the courageous faction got downstairs to venture out into the cold, we were joined by Nancy R and her daughter, her grandson Nolan, and her son-in-law Chris. Sandra C made an appearance outside to check on us before going back in to join the movie-viewers. It turned out that the stalwart skaters were only: Frank P, Vic and Margaret P, Mark C, and Nancy R---and her family, not nearly enough to qualify for the group rate reduction. We got our skates and ventured out onto ice that had not been groomed too well in the wake of the snowfall on Sunday night, but the blade marks already there seemed to indicate that some folks had been skating since the snowfall. We eventually limbered up and got into our counter-clockwise passes around the rink, sometimes even skating to the rhythm of the music played over the sound system. Since we were almost the only ones using the rink, we occasionally decided to go in a clockwise direction for some time, and then switching back again. Our ticket and rental was for two hours, but some time after about an hour and twenty minutes, we found that the idea of a hot cocoa or Starbuck's holiday blend would be awfully nice, and we got the skates off and back into the rink's shelves and went inside to talk and sip out hot beverages. When we broke up, some time after about 4:45 PM or so, we thought that the other faction might have already finished their movie-viewing, but, worn out, we briefly went back out into the cold to find our vehicles and warm ourselves on the way home. Our courage lasted only just so long. Not even long enough to find out what the featured film was, or how it was judged. That's another story.

Mark C.

Click here to view Ellis' pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/m.malabad/IceSkating121410?authkey=Gv1sRgCMjwqNWZhZPnYg#