Skating, again

Like I said before I love to watch people skating at the Bryant Park rink. I watch them and think back eons ago when I used to do it, too. I watch them and criticize them, in my mind naturally. It is very entertaining, at least for me. I look at the people. their style and their companions.

First are the people who seem to be terrified to be on ice. To skate is to slide on the ice surface. These people do not slide, they take baby steps, takes them almost an hour to get around, they grab the sidewall like their life depends on it. They are also terrified of falling.

Then there are the ones who think they can skate, they do slide but their posture is so unsure, unbalanced that it is very funny. They look like they are drunk because they appear very uncontrolled. But still, they seem to like skating.

Then there are the "masters of ice". These are the ones who know how to skate, like to skate and they are home on ice. Some of them skate gracefully some of them are the showoffs. The graceful skaters are nice to watch. Some just go around without much hullabaloo, while others do nice turns or moves while skating. The showoffs go fast, weaving in and out of the crowd, when there is a crowd. They just want to show how good they are and want people to envy them. 

I think my friend and I belonged to the "masters of ice" category. We were skating for a good many years and felt pretty comfortable on the ice. We were graceful skaters, nothing wild except knocking over a few girls hoping they fall in love with us.

Now, I can just sit front of the tv screen and think back for those good old days.