We're still alive and have all our teeth!

Doug and I went ice skating last night with a friend of his from work. Doug hasn't attempted to ice skate in oh, about 30 years (longer than that friend has been alive!). I tried it once when I was a kid, but it was on borrowed skates that were too small, and on a flooded baseball diamond (that's what they did up in Wisconsin), which made for a rough surface. Needless to say, I wasn't very successful.

There is also the Texas mindset that I need to get out of. I feel that if the weather is cold enough to freeze water solid, especially solid enough to walk on, it just seems smarter to spend the evening curled up under a blanket with a nice glass of brandy reading a good book or watching tv.

Both of us did a lot better than we thought (feared) we would. We didn't fall at all, although Doug does have a nasty blister on his ankle. I haven't done much roller blading lately, but I used to do it a lot and found ice skating to be a lot like that. One difference from my prior experience might have been the skates themselves. My first try years and years ago was with figure skates with leather boots, and my ankles weren't strong enough to keep me upright. We rented hockey skates last night, which are stiff-booted and provide a lot more ankle support.

The skating rink had weird taste in music: a radio station that plays all '70s tunes. I asked Doug's friend if that was just to please the old folks on weeknights, but he said they always play that. Scary thing is, I knew most of the songs. Among the musical artists were Meatloaf, ELO, the Doobie Brothers, Donna Summers, and the Bee Gees. Wow.