Fences

Oh, the prospect of snow does conjure up so many wonderful memories!

Just below our house was my grandfather's farm, where my uncle could always be found. He milked cows in the Spring and popped wheelies on his motorcycle; milked cows in the Summer and ate half gallons of ice cream in one sitting; milked cows in the Fall and scared me to death on Halloween; milked cows in the Winter and LOVED the snow as much as any kid I ever knew. Basically, he milked cows and lived life to its fullest and fastest!

I can still see the fear in my brother's eyes as he talked about taking a trip to Franklin with Roger in the snow. Roger drove fast and fearless without the snow. In the snow, he still drove as if there weren't anything on the road. My brother talked about spinning and sliding in the truck as if he were on skis that he couldn't control. However scared he had been and relieved to make it home, he was ready to hop back in the truck, because it was more fun than anyone could ever imagine.

We've heard stories of Roger sledding on the roads at midnight, and I can close my eyes to this day and see him laughing so hard as he headed down a hill at breakneck speeds - his favorite way to ride.

When I was 8 years old, Roger came to our house to sled with me. My parents had bought the last green, metal disc slide at the hardware store and we had gotten a lot of snow. We would start out at the top of the hill next to my neighbors' house and sled to the bottom of the hill in our yard which was separated from my poppa's farm by a wire fence. We were sledding for a while, my uncle taking his turn with my brother and me, so the snow was packed down like a solid sheet of ice.

It was my turn. I got on my metal disc, held onto the white plastic handles and began what would be my last ride for the day. My uncle, Roger, was standing about halfway between to help me, "just in case." I'm pretty sure I knew my destiny when I passed him going 150 mph, because he told my mother, "Her eyes were this big around (making hand gestures as big as tires)." I was headed for the creek, trees, I think even a cow, and then, I came to an abrupt stop.

Remember that fence I mentioned earlier? You know, the wire one that separated our yard from the farm land. Let me try to paint you a mental picture...wire fences, the BARBED wire fences that are used for farming, typically have large squares...I was on the disc, I stuck my arms and legs out in front of me to stop, and I did stop...but each arm went through a square and each leg went through a square. My face and torso were stopped by the wire on the fence. I even have a scar in my eyebrow to show for it. I ran, bleeding, into the house and crying. My uncle followed trying to help me, and after seeing that I was okay, threw his head back and laughed that familiar laugh...the one that makes me wish I could go outside and sled down the hill, run into the fence, and hear all over again.

Oh, the prospect of snow...so, I went to buy a sled today. When I walked into the hardware store, I saw the familiar metal disc with the white plastic handles. As tempted as I was to buy one, I was drawn to a bigger sled...one that I can pile both girls in with me and race down the streets at breakneck speed. I'm not sure how we'll stop, because there aren't any fences...but I'm hoping in my mind there will be a familiar ringing of laughter from the daredevil I loved so much.