EPISODE 199 SKATING ON THE CREDIT RIVER…THEN DISASTER
alan skeoch
Dec. 2020
Global warming has made free skating on Lakes and rivers less and less common. There was a
time when our river, the Credit River, was strung with coloured lights and the ice strengthened with
flooding. Ice so strong that a tractor with snow blade could clear long stretches of the river
from the Port Credit Bridge north into the wilderness beyond the railway bridge where the
Go Train thunders by.
Was it global warming that ended the river skating? Or was it some insurance executive who
pointed our the City liability?
Good news. There are still chances to skate up the Credit River in certain
years when the temperature drops and the snow does not drop. Marjorie,
the Kids and I have grabbed these moments for they are ephemeral.
Now that is real skating. An adventure. Unlimited solid ice that seems to have no end.
A hockey game with no boundaries.
I am not the best skater. Not a Gretsky/ More a dreamer…loving the open ice with no need to stop.
My last time on the river ice was not so pleasant. I was not as alert as others. I revved up my speed
and was just flying over the ice.. No speed limit posted.
Then, WHAM!…I DID A HEAD FIRST DIVE AND LET MY NOSE BE A RUDDER AND A BRAKE. What happened? The wind had blown
sand on piece of ice. Enough to stop my skates … Dead stop. My body flew parallel to the ice for a bit then
my head angled down and my nose got the worst of it.
There have been a few days when the Fifth Line of Erin Township has become one long
skating rink…as Marjorie and Kevin enjoyed one winter day before the plows arrived.
Glare ice on the Fifth line is less and less likely these days. Sand and gravel is spread
as soon as the road gets icy. And the snow plows stir it all up. Must be so, I Guess.
FOND MEMORY: Suppose you are Given the chance to skate on a river or lake. Make sure the ice is solid of course. But grab
the chance. Long long ago Russ Vanstone invited a bunch of us loving couples to his Georgian Bay
cottage when the weather was bitingly cold. We could hold hands and skate into the blackness of the night.
“From here to Eternity, Marjorie.” We had that moment. We did not let it slip through our fingers.
alan skeoch
Dec.2020
