Since I started going skiing, I’ve tried to convince friends to go with me. I’ve had a few people go with me but that’s tapered off. Now that my skiing skills are higher than they used to be, I’m out there alone most of the time. I mean the mountain of course keeps me company, but I’m there alone, which actually suits me just fine. Most of the time….
Being there alone affords the chance to go silent for the day mostly, which is a thing I love. I’m famous for my capacity for constant, excited loud talking and here I am extolling the virtues of going silent. But I like that in skiing, the silent aspect of it, the wind howling in your ears, the sound of snow under your skis. Ok, ok, ok stop that already.
Of course being alone also gives me the opportunity to do a lot of people watching. The people at the resorts are super friendly, so most of the time I sit, mixed in with other people quietly eating my midday break meal, listening to their conversations.
I’ve always loved listening to other people’s conversations. Long ago, as a kid in elementary school, our school decided to teach us creative writing. I’m not exactly sure why, but we had classes in creative writing and one of the teachers told us to listen to other people’s conversations I guess for creativity. I’m not exactly sure why.
Ever since then, I’ve always done that. I try to be subtle about it. Listening to people’s conversations does give you a lot of clues as to where you are and what kind of people are around you. I went to Stowe this past Saturday. Stowe is known as this kind of chi chi Vail type of skiing place. It kind of is, when you consider the price of the average meal over there tops out at $15 and I’m talking standard lodge fair. Nothing fancy. I sat in the ski lodge eating my $10 bowl of soup next to two middle aged married couples. They were discussing the ski trips of their mutual friends, a trip taken by one of the children to the Bahamas and the drug addiction of a mutual friend. It was an interesting mix of topics. No, I didn’t actually record them.
Ski season is soon drawing to a close through Mother Nature’s handy work. Let’s enjoy some views before it all melts down:
wrong side of the camera 