All Downhill from Here!

A week or two ago, after one of our many snowstorms, I was driving past the Norwich Golf Course on New London Turnpike and saw the parking lot by the Caddy Shack restaurant packed with cars. I knew the crowds weren't there for the golf. They were there for sledding. It really surprised me that so many people - kids and adults - were still into sledding. The simple pleasure of walking up a hill or two and then letting gravity do its thing was one of my favorite things to do as a kid. The empty and sloping cornfield behind our house provided the perfect hill when the snow got deep and powdery enough. The walk up was rewarded with the rush of a fast and hopefully smooth descent. The time after school and before supper would fly by. Now there are more options like snowboarding, snow tubing and those plastic saucers, but give me a Flexible Flyer sled anyday. My brother and I found Flexible Flyers under the Christmas tree more than once. Skiing and skating are all well and good, but sledding beats them all!