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.