I confess that in the 31 years I have lived in Ashland I have not searched throughout the town for the best places to go sledding. With all the hills we have around here, I am certain there are a lot of great places for sledding, and if it weren’t for all the trees, there would be even more.
However, the main reason I have not searched for good sledding places throughout the city is it has never been necessary. Within 20 feet of my back door, there are two hills that combine to make a great place to sled.
Don’t take my word for it. Ask any of my three children or my oldest granddaughter. All four of them have spent many a snowy day laughing and shouting as they rode a sled down one hill, across the small level area and then down a second hill and into the fence.
But, alas, despite all the snow we have had in recent weeks, not one child has taken that first sled ride down the two hills in our back yard.
I know why this is. Our oldest granddaughter, now 14, has decided she is too old and too “cool” for going down a couple of hills on a plastic sled. No matter how much fun she has had going down those two slopes in past years, she has not expressed the slightest desire to do so this year.
In addition to considering herself too old for sledding, there is another reason why this 14-year-old has shown no interest in sledding this winter: To do so would require that she wear a coat.
What is it about teenagers today that makes them think coats are an unnecessary accessory? They would rather risk freezing to death in 10-degree temperatures than to be caught wearing a coat to keep warm. It is better to be cold and cool than warm and uncool.
My teenage granddaughter is not the only one who disdains coats. A friend who takes underprivileged kids shopping on behalf of Friends of the Children said that worthwhile organization has given up on buying winter coats for teens simply because it realizes teens will not wear them. Instead, it buys teens “hoodies” — sweatshirts with hoods — and prays they will be enough to keep them from freezing to death.
My granddaughter will wear a sweatshirt or jacket on extra cold days, but some of her classmates will not even go that far. Dropping her off at Verity Middle School one morning when the thermometer in my car said it was 14 degrees, a kid in the car in front of us got out wearing only a T-shirt. That’s right — on a day that was frigid, he was dressed for a summer day in the park. I am certain he felt like he looked really cool, but to this old fuddy-duddy, he looked like an idiot who couldn’t dress for the weather.
But what do I know? I assumed the person driving the car from which he emerged was his mother and she let him go out half-naked into the frigid air. Besides, my granddaughter was only wearing a light jacket for warmth, and while I warned her she would catch her death from pneumonia, I did not force her to wear a coat. As a grandparent, I didn’t think that was my place.
Here’s the real reason I am saddened that my granddaughter no longer wants to go sledding: Now I have no excuse to get on a sled and speed down the slopes in our back yard like a 10-year-old. In past years, I always used the excuse of supervising my granddaughter as she went sledding to take a few trips down the slopes. Of course, my interest was only to make sure the slopes were safe — or at least that was my excuse.
Now I have none. One granddaughter thinks she is too old for sledding, and the other is definitely too young at only 4 months. That leaves me with no sledding partner. If granddaughter is too old for sledding at 14, then I am definitely too old at 61. When you are over the hill, you can’t go down the hill.
Nevertheless, I have been thinking about getting the sled down for one last trip for old times sake. I can just imagine the headline: “Old man injured sliding through his second childhood.”
Instead of taking that risk, I have decided to be patient. In a few years, my youngest granddaughter will be old enough to take to the slopes, and by that time, granddaughter No. 1 may once again realize sledding is fun for all ages. Some of my best sledding adventures occurred while a student at Morehead State University and while a young adult in Bowling Green.
Who says you can’t have fun on a sled at 70? Assuming that I live that long, I may just crazy enough to try it.
JOHN CANNON can be reached at jcannon@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2649.
