Winter of 1969

8:30pm and practice had gone well.  The team was ready for the big game.  Our competition was driving in from the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.  They were considered the best team in the state at all levels but we knew we could beat them.  Our best center lived in Glenwood and rarely made the 42 mile drive up for practice but always made the games.  He was good and we knew we could count on him. 

It was cold outside with a fresh blanket of snow on the ground.  Even though I only lived three blocks away the thought of carrying my gear home after a long practice was the last thing I wanted to do.  One option that existed only after a good snow was to actually skate home.  I checked outside and the roads were perfect.  That was it, I would skate home.  I had skied home numerous times even though according to local statutes, it was against the law to do so.  But this was skating.  Were the laws specific enough to include that?  Who in their right mind would skate on the roads?  Me!  

I headed out the door with my gear over my shoulder and headed east on Hyman Avenue.  At the other end of the block I rounded the corner onto 1^st Street and like Christmas, the red and blue lights lit up the trees and houses on both sides of the street.  Had he been waiting for me or was it a case of really bad luck?

I sheepishly skated towards the officer to see what I could do to get out of this one.  As he pulled up next to me in his Ford Torino I realized I was probably doomed.    I do not remember which officer it was but I do remember him being a bit “harsh.”  I was instructed to remove my skates immediately or that he would take me to City Hall which was where the jail was at the time.  Even at the age of eight I remember thinking that it was a bit over the top to take me in for skating home; and besides, what was he doing behind the Aspen Ice Gardens at that hour of the day?

As directed, I removed my skates and walked the remaining block and a half home, all the while he drove slowly behind me until reaching my front porch.  If anyone else had followed me in that manner I would have called the police but since he was the police, well…

I remember skating and skiing home many more times until we moved our house to the “West End.”  I always kept a watchful eye out for police hiding in the shadows or dark alleys.