Silver Lake Winter

I got these skates at a thrift shop years ago.

When I was in the 6th grade, all of the kids would congregate after school, at the place in the Baptist Church parking lot just behind those stairs, you see in front. In the winter it always flooded and froze there. I didn't have skates, so I would slide around on my shoes. My Aunt Fern, who lived in town, found out about it, and loaned me her skates for as long as we lived there. I was so proud of them, and made pompoms, like the older girls had on their skates.

One of the winter activities were skating parties with bonfires on some of the frozen alkali lakes, and areas where the creek overflowed and froze. I loved seeing my breath in the cold night air, wearing my soft rabbit fur earmuffs, and skating in the dark, looking across the ice to the glow of the fire on shore, with people gathered 'round talking and laughing. (It was very Rockwell'ish) My ankles always wobbled and went all wonky, I never did become a good skater; but I dearly loved a Silver Lake Winter.