I grew up in rural Ontario, so most of my road hockey was played on a snow-packed driveways after supper, in the dead of winter. The nearest ice rink was about a kilometre away at the public school, but there were know lights and no warm place to put on your skates. In the driveway we at least had the benefit of the 100 watt bulb over the backdoor and we could nip inside to warm up or mend a battle wound.
We often played with a crushed tin can rather than a ball or puck. The tin can at least glinted in the dark and didn’t travel far when it strayed out of bounds. A common refrain echoed in the winter night, “NO RAISING!”. Alas, the rule was often broken in the heat of the game, leading to cursing, cuts and at worst, fistfights. All things heals by the next goal or big save.
I’m looking forward to Lost & Found Theatre‘s premiere of a Lea Daniel and Gary Kirkham’s “Pocket Rocket” a play three periods that looks at how our childhood experiences, such as road hockey, shapes our live over time. It opens on April 20 and runs till April 30. You can order your tickets online.
For more in the “Road Hockey Stories” series watch these other 1-minute episodes:
Visually Speaking 