Some days rush upon us...
Illustration
Some days rush upon us and nothing we can do will stop them: tax day, examination day, or root-canal day. Other days seem never to arrive, no matter what we do to hasten their advent: Christmas (especially for children) and visits from special people.
One man tells of growing up on the prairies, where there was one day that never seemed to arrive: the day the dugout froze solid enough for kids to skate on it. As soon as the cool weather created a skim of ice on the dugout, he would pester his dad, "Is it ready yet?" And his father would reply, day after day, "No, not yet. Just be sure you are ready."
Getting ready required painting the homemade, wooden goal net, draping new gunny sacking over the frame, sharpening skates and stocking the shack by the dugout with a bench, shovels, and brooms. Not much really. But there were many years when the day finally came when his father would declare, "It's ready," and the boy was not.
One man tells of growing up on the prairies, where there was one day that never seemed to arrive: the day the dugout froze solid enough for kids to skate on it. As soon as the cool weather created a skim of ice on the dugout, he would pester his dad, "Is it ready yet?" And his father would reply, day after day, "No, not yet. Just be sure you are ready."
Getting ready required painting the homemade, wooden goal net, draping new gunny sacking over the frame, sharpening skates and stocking the shack by the dugout with a bench, shovels, and brooms. Not much really. But there were many years when the day finally came when his father would declare, "It's ready," and the boy was not.
