I don’t remember his age, but Dan’s first ski trip with me was the result of an unexpected occurrence. Martha and I had planned a romantic ski getaway. Along with our friends, Jim and Donna Meyer we reserved a room at the Powderhorn ski resort in Michigan. The room came with a hot tub, and a fireplace. We had arranged for the kids to be kept in our absence and were really excited about the weekend away.
During the week before leaving, Martha was washing some glasses in the sink. One slipped from her grasp. Unfortunately, she caught it just as it hit the sink. The glass exploded into her hand. A trip to the emergency room got her hand repaired. It became obvious to us that no way was she going to be able to ski. She decided that I should at least go. I didn’t want to go without her. It was during prime season, so there was no refund on the room, or rescheduling. She put her foot down and told me to go. End of discussion!
Well, since I had to go, I might as well take Dan along. I believe he was about twelve at that time. The drive up was fine, and we got checked in and lift tickets purchased. We had two days of fun skiing the slopes of Powderhorn.
The third day we decided to go over to Indian head ski resort. It was different than most in that the lodge was at the top of the hill. We got there and got our lift tickets and began having fun. Dan, typically at that age didn’t want to be seen skiing with his father. So, he was off on his own,
I was at the bottom, when I heard some people shouting and pointing. I looked, and there was someone at the top of the ski jump. They came flying down, and off the end of the ramp. As they came off the end of the ramp, they lost their skis. I looked like a cheap imitation of a Thunderbird starburst. I skied over to where they had landed. The ski patrol got there first. They were nursing him and giving him hot chocolate. I could see that he was okay. One of the patrol ask if I knew him. I replied “I have never seen him before”. I followed them up to the lodge and collected him there.
We had a little talk about staying off the ski jump. Other than that, it was a pretty fun weekend. I still wish that Martha had been there.
