A worthy topic

Since we came back from Israel, I have been feeling stuck, blogwise. Life seems less comment-worthy, less remarkable when you are in your regular groove. But today, New Year's Eve, it so happens, I went out to play my first game of shinny in the park across the street, one of the things I most missed when I was away in Israel and I realized that I had found my new topic. Girouard Park is a great neighbourhood park and every year around Nov. 1st hockey boards appear in the middle of the baseball diamond. From that day on I wait for snow and -10 degrees like sane people anticipate a trip to Cuba. Two weeks ago some guys from the city were out in their fluorescent orange rubber gloves with the fire hose under the giant halogen lights in the middle of a bitterly cold night putting down the first layers of ice. I went over the next day. They had been back, and the ice shimmered with another coat. I could hear it creaking and groaning as it froze. I saw skate tracks in the snow. Somebody even more eager than me had come over hoping for a skate, but the ice still wasn't ready. But a few more coats, a few passes with the zamboni and now the ice is good to go. I have been out a few times with the boys but today was the first day I went over myself and played.
I grew up in Vancouver and -- except for a few rare occasions -- didn't get to skate outdoors. Like the Montreal Canadiens, skating in the fresh air was part of a Canada that I knew about but couldn't get at. We played street hockey all year round but never shinny. Now I get to rectify that.
Anyway more about the wonders of the game as the blog progresses, with ample doses of children updates, identity, literature and other brain-sweepings. Suffice it to say that after a year away -- and I was never so hot to start with -- I was pretty rusty. I had one pretty nice assist. The highlight was when I was going for the puck iat centre ice. A young buck in his twenties a little taller than me and a better skater by far was after it too. Too late to get out of the way we both put our shoulders down. Guess who was left standing? Young buck says, "that was interference." I figured he needed to save face and anyway, I was too happy at not having been knocked ass over teakettle to protest so I let him have the puck. After all, shinny is about fun.