Turn light on!

I am invincible!

We went sledding on Sunday.  Ben had a cold and I was a little wobbly from lack of sleep, but my buddy D called up and said he was bringing his kids to a nearby golf course for some sleddin'.  Who could turn that down?

Ben is always game for running around in his snowsuit.  I don't really grok why he thinks it's so much fun, but then again, I've never owned a snowsuit (to my knowledge).  I've got a set of overalls for Halloween, but I rarely wear them since I perfected my pirate costume.

Down with thee, sled!

Bubba is a pro and dashed off to play with D's kids.  Ben can be a little challenging, even when he's not sick.  He loves to watch things fall, or tumble, or roll.  If he ever gets a job, I can imagine him really liking avalanche control or maybe demolition.  For sledding, this means that if you're not careful, he'll push your sled down the hill with no rider on it.  In fact, he'll send anyone's sled down the hill -- honey badger don't care (don't follow that link, Mom).

After much cajoling, I persuaded Ben to sled down the hill with me in the big orange sled.  Sadly, I was positioned right behind the recently acquired crack. This meant that halfway down the hill, our sled became a cheese shaver, piling snow up under me.  This quickly slowed us to a stop and raised me almost a foot.

I did it!

Eventually, I managed to get Ben to slide down on his own.  He loved it, of course, and would yell, "I DID IT!" at the end of every run.  Of course, he wouldn't come back, much less bring the sled up the hill.  So, shortly after pushing him off, I had to hoof it down the hill after him every time.

I knew he was feeling poorly, so when he wanted to be carried up the hill, piggy-back style, I agreed.  Sadly, the sled's tow rope was broken, so I had to carry Ben and the sled up the slippery slope.

After two hours, that can start wearing a fella down.  There was a moment though, that made it all worthwhile.  After a very fine sled run, Ben pointed up and said, "Turn light on!"  It took me a minute, but I realized that he was pointing at the sun, and wanted me to move the clouds out of the way.

As some of you know, that is beyond my power.  I was pleased though that Ben had some faith in me.  If I did have that kind of power, I promise that I would use it responsibly.  You would all have health care coverage, to be sure.

It was a good day...different from what other folks were doing, but good.  Thanks, Ben (and Bubba).