King Of The Hill

Ah, winter was a very special time of the year when I was growing up in Wallace. My father certainly did not share my enthusiasm for the frosty season, Of course, I was not yet burdened down with scraping ice off a frozen car windshield, or the daunting task of knocking off the wet mountains of overnight snow of that had seemingly buried our car three feet under the heavy white quilt stitched together with silver strings of ice. My life was much simpler. All that I had to do was to get up, wash up, eat breakfast, and don boots, a winter coat, and gloves and cap.

 

My father was a stickler for the hat. He firmly believed that we would catch our “death of cold” if we exited the house without our heads being properly covered with one. Every fall my mother would purchase silly looking stocking caps that would have been much better suited for Bozo the Clown than for a school boy that had to be seen by his peers. You know the kind. They would not have been quite as nerdy if they didn’t have that silly looking cluster of yarn on the top. So, we were like the credit card commercial, we never left home without one because my parents would stand there like code enforcers and ensure that our heads would be warm and toasty.

 

There was always plenty to do in this wonderful, magical season of white in Wallace. There were snow ball fights to engage in, king of the mountain challenges on the mountains of snow left by the snow plows, snow forts to build, skiing for those who skied, and of course, there were plenty of snow packed roads to sled down in the wooden sleds that we had in those days.

 

Ah, sledding was so much fun, and of course it carried with it the high risk of possible broken bones, split skulls, and amputated limbs if one was to somehow get a foot or hand trapped underneath the sharp runners. The of course, there was always the risk of flying off a cliff, getting run over by a car, and smashing into a tree. Yes, there were dangers galore, and that, of course, was what it made it so fun.

 

Next-King of the Hill Part 2-A Sledding Party To Remember