Snow and trains
Since several folks have asked, here is what happened with my ski
instructor 3 dozen years ago.
I had done downhill skiing since I was 7. My mother was fine with this in
the early 70’s as it was cheap and there was a place near our house.
But, by the mid to late 70’s the prices started to go up quite a bit.
I liked skiing and had always liked being out in the snow. So, my aunt
suggested cross country skiing as it was still cheap and could be done near
her house. She agreed to pay for lessons for me, my brother and my cousin
Laura. (This was just before the great family split that would stop Laura
from talking with us for decades due to her father’s fight with my mother
and aunt.)
I liked downhill better. But, I was 13 with little income on my own. (I
couldn’t make money shoveling snow as my mother offered my service in this
to neighbors for free.)
So, I went with the one that was funded.
It was supposed to be a course of 6 lessons. The first two went well.
Then, the blizzard of 78 hit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeastern_United_States_blizzard_of_1978
It was really a snow hurricane.
It shut down the whole state for two weeks. My father was trapped at work
for 5 days. The air was the most clean I have ever encountered as a whole
section of the country stopped driving cars for more than a week.
But, the ski lessons for those two weeks were postponed due to the snow.
When we showed up the following week, we were told the lessons were
canceled for good.
Our instructor had been getting to work on his skis and had been going
along the train track next to the golf course where we had been skiing.
As he skied along he tried out his brand new Walkman. (They were new and
rare then.)
I guess he had the volume up really loud and didn’t hear the train coming
up behind him.
I’m told the train saw him and tried to stop, but couldn’t in time to avoid
hitting him. The snow plows on the front of trains used for snow as tall
as a person are not to be trifled with. It killed him instantly.
I have not been on skis since. Not that I really think doing so would
summon a train. But, never finishing those lessons didn’t encourage me to
do more. And, that was about the time I took up swimming instead. My high
school had an indoor pool, so I did that in the winter instead.