Winter Park is a great place to snowboard if you like to walk your snowboard through flat spot to flat spot. It snowed most of the time up there and the quality of the snow was pretty good and the runs are long but the long runs here are part of the problem for snowboarders. When you come down a section of the run that merges with another trail the run goes flat and you cannot make it through to the next section without coming out of your bindings and either skating along with one foot or just walking your board to the next portion of the run that has a downward slope so you can get going again. Needless to say I was disappointed in Winter Park. Coming from the East Coast I was expecting great things but what I found were long runs that you can’t complete because of flat spots in the runs and icy spots on the more difficult runs. On the East Coast even though the runs are shorter you can ride all the way down the mountain almost back directly into the lift lines. I personally prefer to be able to ride all the away down a trail without stopping. Oh, and to top it off lift tickets were $109, what a jip. I may try a different Colorado resort next time but if that is just as bad in the future I will just keep heading further west to California where they like us snowboarders and have better runs.
One of the most influential fashion visionaries in the business and a good friend. Caprice Willard Interview - Fashion Star (by nbcFashionStar)
Sometimes I wonder if me or my old friends have changed too much to maintain old friendships. I have struggled over the years to maintain closeness with some friends one in particular. Living across the country I used to make an effort to stay connected but as more time goes on I miss the daily connections less and less and as my world view seems to constantly move further and further away from theirs I have to wonder if it is time to move on. I love my friends but time and distance changes things.
Went skiing/snowboarding today at Round Top in PA and for the East Coast the snow was pretty good.
Atlantic City Throw Down, a set on Flickr.
Went to Atlantic City for the weekend and danced danced danced.
zadi:
As seen on Facebook. (posted by Homestead Survival)
A sweet lesson on patience.
A NYC Taxi driver wrote:
I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. ‘Just a minute’, answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90’s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940’s movie.
By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.
There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.
‘Would you carry my bag out to the car?’ she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. ‘It’s nothing’, I told her.. ‘I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.’
‘Oh, you’re such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, ‘Could you drive
through downtown?’
‘It’s not the shortest way,’ I answered quickly..
‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ she said. ‘I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. ‘I don’t have any family left,’ she continued in a soft voice..’The doctor says I don’t have very long.’ I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
‘What route would you like me to take?’ I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.
We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, ‘I’m tired.Let’s go now’.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.
Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
‘How much do I owe you?’ She asked, reaching into her purse.
‘Nothing,’ I said
‘You have to make a living,’ she answered.
‘There are other passengers,’ I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.
‘You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’
I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut.It was the sound of the closing of a life..
I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day,I could hardly talk.What if that woman had gotten an angry driver,or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life.
We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.
But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.All the tears.
(Source: mishalmoorebloggyblog)
My wife and I are bringing in the New Year on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
I was doing some shopping and decided to show you my produce.
