Community of Characters

     Skiing at one area for many years brings you into contact with a host of characters to observe.   Some of them will become your friends. If you were writing a play or a story, you would have to have real examples of individuals of all sorts.  In fact you might not even be able to imagine them without actually observing them.  

    One thing about the characters that is shared by all at my Greek Peak Ski Area friends in Virgil, New York is a passion for skiing.   The long-timers desire to be on the slopes as much as possible, depending on their physical condition, their economic situation and the demand of family and jobs. 

    In the case of my closer community at the Peak, we have made all kinds of observations about skiers behavior.  Many of these regulars have nicknames that are universally known or in some cases, if they are somewhat derogatory, are unknown to them.  For the most part, we are a forgiving bunch when we observe behaviors we think inappropriate.   

   Observations of behavior include comments on skiing style.  Bombing the hill seems to be desired by a few of these characters and we know when to avoid what we think is perilous behavior. While we skiers are mostly tolerant of snow boarders, we do have some anxiety about what we consider to be their blindside while boarding!

    Among the special subsets of community are the Geezer Skiers. We pretty much know all of the geezer skiers and most of the staff as well as the management, who appreciate our loyalty to the area.  Recently some of us were honored for our loyalty with plaques placed on the back of the Visions Express chairs recognizing our decades at the Greek Peak Ski area.  Beyond the current Geezer Skier characters we hope that there will be people at the area who will still appreciate those who are deceased and/or now reluctantly retired from the slopes.

    Meanwhile, I will continue to enjoy observing the character of this skier community and meeting and chatting with the skiers from all over Central New York to learn their stories and get some insights into their character. 

    As a final observation, I am uplifted by the recognition of character as such an important element of human existence recently highlighted in the service for President Jimmy Carter. Regardless of your political leanings, one has to appreciate the exemplary life of that man of such sterling character.  

Rhythyms: Musing on New Year's Day 2025

     Another year has rolled by.  In a few months, I will be experiencing my 90th birthday. I am amazed that I have enjoyed so many years of living on this earth and have experienced the ebbs and flows of seasonal changes, life changes and many adaptations to changing situations.  As I wrote the check for our town and county tax bill today I was thinking of how this is a reminder that there is the inevitability of taxes and of course the accompanying thought of death too. Unfortunately the latter has become much more common among my contemporaries. The population of the Tough Old Geezer Skier Community that we founded at Greek Peak 10 or so years ago has dwindled too much. Thankfully some of us are still carrying the Geezer Skier banner, even if it is not a frequently on the hill as we used to be. Obviously, we have a legacy to uphold and perhaps our present duty is to keep the geezer tradition continuing by recruiting a new generation.  Part of the rhythm of things.

    In the cosmic sense, rhythm is a vast wave of centuries and eons. However in the shorter time frames the rhythm can be simply a day's activities with a comfortable routine.  With the ski season upon us, I am happily establishing the rhythm of my ski day for the max pleasure and preservation of this old body. Arising at reasonable hour is a good start to the day. A breakfast and a few exercises, followed by a shower and gathering my gear, gets me on the way to the slopes for riding the lift near the opening hour.  

     Although I have had many years on the slopes, each new day brings the necessity of establishing my rhythm for handling the conditions for the day. Settling into the groove brings the finest satisfaction. Depending on the conditions of both my body and the slopes, the day will have its ups and downs. (Pun intended) Of course a significant part of the day is the social interaction with lift attendants and fellow skiers. 

    In conclusion, I now wonder what this new year will bring into my life and interactions, particularly with the geezer ski community and the younger ski community as well.  Whatever the case, I hope that all geezers will approach the new year with optimism and a goal of enjoying life's many surprises as much as possible.

    

Feeling Renewed

    Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I am reminded that there a many things to be thankful for in spite of the unrest in our country and the world.  As I write this I occasionally gaze out the window to see some snow coming down. Who knows, we may be on the slopes in our area in a week or so. Forecast looks like snowmaking may be possible next week.

    Beyond the enthusiasm for the forthcoming ski season, I was deeply moved by an article of good news I read and viewed this morning in a newsletter that I get daily.  It bolstered my faith in humankind, that in spite of the chaos and division of late there are many good unsung people doing wonderful deeds. The gist of the news this morning was a story of a woman in Texas of meager means reaching out to give rides in her 22 year old car for those less fortunate.  The blind and ill etc.  Along with her charity there was a car dealer of Philadelphia who heard of her situation and was moved to an extraordinary act human kindness and integrity.  He provided her with a new car plus payment of insurance taxes and maintenance.   The only thing he asked for was to continue to continue her kindness by further reaching out to those in her community in need. I was moved to tears!  While in this day, often see greediness and power grabbing, we need to be reminded that there are many unsung heroes in this world that make all our days worth living.  This all gives me a goal to be a better person too. 

Blessings everyone. May you encounter many good folks in your community and be inspired to give back as well.

Geezer and His Dog

 In anticipation of the new ski season I continue with my morning workout on my recumbent bike.  Geezers like me need to keep moving to maintain our ability to hit the slopes.  I continue to be optimistic for the coming year, but who knows.   

My workout gives me a view of the street out our sunroom window, so I regularly see neighbors out for their walks and constitutionals.  This morning I was struck by the pace of a gentleman walking his dog.  Both were obviously in their senior years.   The pace was quite slow and halting and was a reminder to me that regardless of our discipline in working out, there are limitations to our success.  So be it!  However, we should continue to count our blessings and be thankful for each day and find joy where we can.

Speaking of joy, I found some today as I was reading the Writer's Almanac by Garrison Keilor.  There was a wonderful poem by Joyce Sutphen on the vagaries of our encounter with our environment.  A poignant piece underlining the impact of our surroundings in our lives as ephemeral events.  I am her admirer since she often writes about rural life scenes.  In addition, I was uplifted learning that today is the birthday of Andrew Carnegie. Delighted to be reminded that Carnegie was one who amassed a huge fortune in the steel industry and proceeded to retire early and distribute his wealth to building libraries, promoting peace and supporting many philanthropic efforts.   Unfortunately, I was dampened in my delight by the observation of the unfeeling behavior of many of our billionaires of our day.  They seem to desire only accumulation of vast wealth without appreciating that they could be great doers of good in society for the less fortunate.

In closing, I recognize I have strayed from major emphasis on geezer skiing issues.  That seems inevitable in the non-skiing season.  However, there are other dimensions to life that sometimes need to be aired.

Memories Of Opening Day!

    An incredible memory came up on my Facebook feed today!  It is incredible to be reminded that on November 15, 2019 I was skiing with my geezer buddies at Greek Peak in Virgil, New York.  This is in contrast to this day 2024, that I was out in my driveway in shirtsleeves repairing my snow blower. In my pessimistic mood, I doubt that we will even be skiing by December 15, 2024.  

    The memory that came up today reminds me how fast time passes and at my senior years of 89 the memories can be buried deeply in my mind.  Skiing memories are especially  fond memories.   In that line, I would mention my 10 or 12 year old adventures with hickory skis with straps over my winter boots for connection.  Straight down the hill with no control on the Drumlins in Wayne County, New York.  In the more modern era, I started with leather boots, wooden skis with steel edges and cable bindings.  Some of that experience was at Mad River Glen in Vermont.  The boots got wet and after drying they were toast.

    Fortunately I later graduated to more sophisticated equipment.  Even moving through the era foaming the insert to get a custom fit.  Unfortunately, many foaming sessions were a failure!  And no refunds.

In the progression of my ski days, in the late 1970's and early 1980's I had the opportunity to do my first Rocky Mountain skiing in Colorado's Breckenridge and Copper Mountain.  We drove out in my customize Ford Econoline Van nonstop from Dryden, New York.  Fortunately my son Colin was a relief driver and we could take sleep breaks.

    Now there are some more recent memories of the great days of skiing with the Tough Old Geezer buddies at Greek Peak.  We are still going as a remnant of our glory days a few years ago when we were still in our 70's.  As I write this I am moved to honor those who have passed and hope they are continuing to ski the heavenly moguls in an after life.  Meanwhile, I hope to enjoy at least a few more years on the slopes! 

Invitation:  As your read this, if you are so inspired, comment with some of your best memories of skiing in your life.  Here's to deep snow! 

Defining Moment

    A few weeks ago my dear wife, the pastor, preached a sermon on the topic of Defining Moments.   This particular sermon has stuck with me and keeps coming into my mind since I have realized that I have had so many defining moments in my life. And as I reflect on those defining moments, I am struck by how those moments have ultimately had a huge impact on my life's direction.

   If one is a student of the bible, you know that biblical characters frequently were involved in defining moments which called for a response to God's call or some other important call to action. In the secular world, of course, there are many defining moments that have a huge impact on our future success, health and relationships.  

    Relative to the geezer skiing world,  there are certainly a series of defining moments as one's ski experience continues from beginning to end.  For me as child I was gifted with a pair of wooden hickory skis one Christmas.  That introduced me to the idea that I could ride down a hill-- at least straight down-- with a new found skill.  The primitive skis gave me little control for turning since my winter galoshes were attached to the skis by simple leather straps.

    Fast forward 25 years or so for another defining moment when a sister-in-law at the time introduced me and my family to the more modern version of alpine skiing.  Leather boots, cable bindings and still wooden skis with metal edges were the better gear.  The learning curve was on and there were some ski-defining moments as I learned to make turns and control my skis.  Oh, the delight of parallel turns and eventually being able to make some progress in skiing the moguls. 

     As life progresses, interruptions will occur and I was destined to abandon frequent skiing  for a number of years as other priorities took over. I was at the peak of my professional career, and also I was involved in raising a child who was born when I was the fifty years old. There are too many wonderful defining moments that led up to this change to mention here!  

      Upon retirement in 1996, a very significant moment followed. Surviving kidney cancer opened the door for taking up my passion for skiing again!  And so it is in 2024, I am looking forward to another season on the slopes.  In the interim, leading to this time,  I have averaged over 70 days a season on the slopes.  In that 28 year period there have been many life and sport activities that have had an array of defining moments.  Some good and some not so good!   Ah, for such is true of life's journey. Unfortunately more recently, near the end of the season this year I had an incident similar to a minor stroke that put me out of commission for a while and serves as a warning that life-changing moments can happen unexpectedly.  However, I am optimistic about the coming season and have already purchased my season pass.

    In conclusion, I am reflecting on the defining moment for some of my senior geezer friends that has caused them to exit from the slopes.  Managing a graceful exit is not easy.  I admire how my friends have accepted their fate. I hope I will have the same grace when my time may come some day, hopefully in my mid-nineties when it is time to recognize my passion for skiing has to be set aside.

    Beyond skiing, I would say that how well we handle elements of change is a mark of our integrity and the quality of our character.  One would hope as we exit this earthly existence we leave with our dignity and integrity intact where the next generation will remember us with fondness and appreciation.  Be well everyone and embrace your defining moments of the past the ones to come.

    A Note by Nancy:  In conversation, Gerry and I talked about how skiing is a good metaphor for life.  It involves learning to master a skill, which also requires patience and perseverance.   It provides a community of folks to socialize with.  Skiing brings challenges, surprises, disappointments, injury.  Eventually, one's energy and abilities wane.  And just like life---it inevitably has a beginning, a middle, and an end!

Resilience

     I read an article in the New York Times today suggesting three things one could do to maintain resilience in life.    Or perhaps to increase your ability to cope with the vagaries of modern living.   This struck me as a topic geezer skiers might be interested in.  I'll confess the many distractions of my life lately have limited my attention to this blog.   Perhaps this piece will atone for my neglect.

    The upshot of the above mentioned article is that there are three major elements to maintaining resilience.  In summary they are:

1.  Having a purpose and a meaning for your life.  Something that attracts your attention.

2.  Having a community of some sort.  As we know there are all kinds of communities from employment, to religious, to volunteer, to hobbies and so on.  Certainly the geezer skier crowd is a community of note for those of us who have a continuing passion for the thrills of downhill skiing.

3.  Maintaining balance.   This is an interesting element in the sense that balance can have a multitude of meanings.  Certainly in the physical sense related to skiing, balance has many elements.  Of course in the broader sense balance has many other dimensions.   In our social life I think of balance as being open to a variety of social groups and interactions.   For me, I am grateful to continue to be able to move between academic, religious, family and volunteer communities.   Of course, family provides many opportunities for other interactions.  While I think I do a pretty good job with maintaining balance, my wife may think otherwise because I have a proclivity to spend too much time on crossword puzzles and other types of word puzzles.   Fortunately we share solving some of the same type of word puzzles.

    As to resilience relating to my local geezer skier community, I am indebted to their support and camaraderie both during the season and beyond.  It is a gift to all of us that we can share tragedies and triumphs in our lives.   In the balance during the ski season we spend a significant amount of time together, but in the rest of the year we spend more time refreshing our interactions with other groups.  Maybe fishing, maybe golf, maybe tennis or maybe traveling.

    As we move into Autumn, it is time to enjoy the dregs of summer, view the beauty of the color the leaves,  have the last few barbecues, and for the ski community, dream of the snow to come that will bless us with an extraordinary ski season.  Meanwhile, lets fight to slow climate change!