Day 241 – Check One Off the Bucket List

 Yesterday Jeff and I attacked the ol’ bucket list with a trip to NYC to ice-skate at Rockefeller Center.  Jeff charged from Penn Station to Rockefeller Center so determinedly that I had trouble keeping up with him at times.  He was anxious to get on the ice and worried that it would be too crowded or that something would prevent our being able to skate.

The city streets were busy but not as crowded with people as they have been every other time we have been in New York.  We were kinda liking the ease of getting around town in this post-Christmas, pre-spring interval.  It had snowed an inch or two on Saturday; maybe the weather kept people home, too.

There was only a short line at the rink’s sales desk and in no time we were squished onto a bench in a 10’x12’ room, lacing up blue plastic resin skates with maybe 30 other people.  The ice, though, did not seem too crowded.  The pace was a lot slower than at rinks at home.  It is a small rink, I think, and the ice was rough with overuse.  Still, it was glorious to be there. 

Ice-skating uses different muscles than you might use every day and Jeff had a lot of difficulty getting going.  I think that his de-conditioning sometimes sneaks up on him and frustrates him.  He complained that the rivets in the sole of the skates felt like nails.  I suggested trying a different pair but he didn’t think it would make any difference in his ability to skate.  He told me to, “Go skate,” while he shuffled around the rink.  I didn’t worry about his getting run over because there were several little kids and no one was racing.  I lapped him a few times before I rounded the circle to see him down, an attendant standing protectively behind him while he tried to get up.  Jeff told me later that the attendant had asked him if he was okay and he answered, “yeah,” but then he realized he couldn’t get up because he couldn’t get the skates under him.

Well, I worked up a sweat, anyway.  And by my mother’s standards, Jeff succeeded.  She always said, “If you don’t fall while ice skating, you’re not trying hard enough.”  Jeff tried.  We stepped off the ice feeling a little lighter - happy to have had the experience (and each of us having left an arm and a leg behind). 

Jeff regretted not kissing me on the ice – he had meant to – so he led me to the brick wall that overlooks the ice and planted one on me.  After walking by the window of the Today Show set, we headed downtown.  Jeff may not have skated well but he sure could walk!  He balked at my suggestion that we use the subway to make our way to East Village for the show Silence! The Musical.  And after the show, he insisted that we walk back to Penn Station instead of using a taxi.  The weather was fine for walking.  We walked six miles in all, with occasional breaks for nourishment and window shopping. 

At home, I asked Jeff whether we should plan a repeat trip next year.  He said he did not feel the need.  We can check that one off the bucket list.