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Friday, December 05, 2008

Flexible Flyer ~

It is snowing. I stand at my window and look into the neighbor's yard. Two ungainly plastic sleds ---oh my, those great sleds we had as kids! Really sleek wooden designs with steel blades.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had to smile at your mention of the sled.

Ago, after a snow fall, the rowdies, aka "The Inn Gang" would haul out the toboggan (which was really only a 12 foot 2x12 plank with a steerable front ski and two blades on the back) tote it up the hill, get the bravest guy,usually "Skinny Campbell" of the Inn to steer (and, of course, be the first one killed should anything go wrong) and with about a thousand pounds of kid on board,barrel down the hill!

You know, I don't recall anyone getting hurt during these rides but the toboggan didn't always fare as well....something about sturdy trees, if I remember correctly.

Not many cars to worry about-car owners had enough sense not to be out driving until after the cinder trucks did their job. And when they did...oh, how the sparks would fly as our monster sled encountered the ash...kept the runners nice and shiny.

In Butler, there was always another hill that escaped the cinder trucks but there were some that were way too steep and scary even for the bravehearts...if you know what I mean. After all, we were not complete idiots!

Anonymous said...

I still look in yard sales and antique shops for that sled. Yes, it was very flexible... I missed many a tree with that sled and I'm sure many of us did a "fast 'n furious" drift to avoid a snow bank before it became popular in the movies. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.