Murray Moss said, “You can’t fall off the floor!” But you can fall onto the floor, or the ice, or the snow. During the next weeks you are going to see plenty of falls if you are a Winter Olympics fan. I was/am and in the past I enjoyed a sport that was challenging and inspiring. Tell me what you think and if you plan to watch.
DO NOT underestimate a boot attached to a 3/16 inch piece of long steel that is holding up a live body standing on an acre of ice in a freezing atmosphere. Be smart, keep moving — keep your circulation going! Being lazy in an ice rink is unacceptable. (People have frozen to death….I’m not sure about in an ice rink, though.)
I wanted to keep moving; ice skating sounded interesting and so, one summer,
I took my mother’s hand as we made our way to St. Louis’s 1894 Union Station filled with freeways of train tracks, gold leaf ceilings, arches and richly colored stained glass windows. My mother and I walked down the vast indoor entry staircase under the glorious Whispering Arch to sign up for a summer skating program in Minnesota.
Whispering Arch
Grand Staircase
We had pre-arranged to rent a master bedroom in a graceful two-story home where our glimpse of life rivaled that of Jack and the Beanstalk as lush, leafy branches tapped against our windows. Our walk to the rink was equally splendid, and formed my lifelong love of trees. If you were so inclined AND of a certain age, it was great to hop-scotch from sun spot to sun spot walking to the rink,—landing on those audacious sun spots that dared to find a path from the sky between the tree leaves.
In case you’re wondering about the perfect diet for a skating athlete to follow, mine centered on the Woolworth Five and Dime lunch counter. It was heaven if you wanted to exist on pancakes, French toast, grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, hamburgers, French fries, chocolate milkshakes and hot fudge sundaes. I always skipped the ‘vegetable of the day’ unless it was corn. I was eleven! 
As I soon learned, there were many places to fit in as a skater, competitions, compulsories and free skating. After a while, I discovered I liked competing with individual challenges including compulsories.
When I started, the figure skating world was focused on skating figures on the ice, otherwise known as Compulsories. This involved using blades to draw circles, figure 8s, and similar shapes on clean sheets of ice demonstrating accuracy and clarity of exact line placement. Dauntingly, early ice skating officialdom decreed a series of eight inflexibly escalating tough as nails tests. Three judges administered each test, studied each line and angle diligently, and then would decree….Pass or Fail.
Free skating, the showpiece of skating with its zip and zing offers the sheer joy of speeding along and jumping; a feeling akin to flying unencumbered, (do consider the caveat— landing the jumps is essential,) spins and footwork, all a fine art. So much fun! We worked hard during those summer programs, starting at 6:00 am weekday mornings and skated all day with short breaks.
In the nineties when television became interested in skating competitions showcasing skaters executing mind numbingly dull eights of barely visible lines carved into the ice, tv ratings spiraled downhill—the bells tolled and the compulsory figure section of skating vanished. Kaput!
Free skating, now, represents the sport. The preeminent male skater in the fifties and rightly so, was Dick Button.* His jumping/flying/skating skills equaled that guy who had to go into a phone booth and magically exit in blue tights with an “S” emblazoned on his chest. Check the height of Dick’s jump, no cape as he soared over tall buildings landing on soft knees with deep edges.
In those early years, skating clothes had not morphed into the fantastical with a thousand or so shimmering sequins. The men wore short formal jackets looking like they had left their restaurant job…. “Hi, I’m Ted, I’ll be your waiter tonight….”
During a Denver summer, I shared an apartment with a favorite friend; we were teenagers, did our own cooking and were always happy to have an invitation to enjoy someone else’s cooking.
To my joy, my coach invited me to some lunches with Dick Button. I enjoyed good food and amusing conversations with a two time Olympic Champion who was the first to land a triple jump in world competitions way back in 1952. Dick completed a Harvard law, degree, created production companies, became a tv analyst, etc. — truly an accomplished human being. 
And now, 70 years later, new Olympic skaters will be crowned. New megastars will land quadruple jumps on a boot attached to a 3/16 inch piece of long steel. Kudos to the talented skaters and the other Olympians who soar in their sport!
Sy’s Salient points:
Skating led to opportunities that would reach far into my future including a demanding learning curve. Delightful friendships ensued to be continued in new and different rinks throughout many, many summers.
*Dick Button: Wikipedia
Happy Valentine’s Day Blaire & Happy Birthday Everett
TO MY FRIEND, RAY BARNECUT…
Lay-back-spin