The Dream of a Boy

There’s no recipe for success.  Nobody is waiting on the other end to tell you that you’re doing a good job.  You do the things you do every day to try and find a place of belonging, destined for some path unknown to you or anyone else, but happy just to be along for the ride, and even happier when there’s snow on the ground to be skied.  Like gravity, the little boy inside is pulled to the snow because he knows there’s a certain amount of magic in it.

It is this snow, and the possibility of skiing it that fuels the dreams of an energetic young boy living in a 23 year old body.  City dwelling for now, he manages to keep busy with business studies and the knowledge that it is the off-season.  He pretends that he’s wearing skis while walking down the street, hopping off the curb with a quickly executed 180 or 360, and balancing “switch” on narrow objects while walking backwards.  There’s not much to be had in the way of skiing, but every time the peaks get a new dusting of that cold white stuff, he smiles a true and hearty smile.  The power of playing in the snow has left such a profoundly joyous memory on his soul that even the sight of this curious substance makes him feel brighter than the sun.  Problems become possibilities as he imagines everything that can become of a truly magical day in the mountains.  The people, the power, the wind, the snow, tea, sweat, laughs, and the blessed vehicles that take him there time and time again.

As skiers, these two boards become a part of us, with each pair weaving its way into our hearts, always to be remembered.  This is a concept that most people fail to understand, questioning our uncanny desire to keep our old, tired skis sitting in the corner of the garage.  But getting rid of them is like throwing away a part of yourself, not something to be cast away beside the trash bin for the garbage men to haul to the dump.

Skiing has shaped my life since I was ten years old, and has been the driving force behind so many of my adventures, it’s hard to imagine a world without it.  I have no idea what I’m looking for, so I let the skis drive, and continue to find new gems around every corner.  I have no doubt that my next pair will do the same.  They seem to know me, and I trust them to lead me, and the little boy inside, towards more mystical places…