One teenager wore a jersey of Sidney Crosby, one of the all-time greatest hockey players, and his own skates — easily distinguished from the rental pairs by their polished black leather and gleaming silver blades, which cut sharp grooves in the ice as he wove around the legions of little kids and their doting parents.
On this rainy Saturday, all of Orange County had crammed like a mosh pit onto the rink. Yet this kid was untouchable, gliding backwards into a turn before pivoting past a four-child pileup with a grin. As is often the case when someone is accomplished at a particular skill, he made ice skating look effortless. In awe, I lost my balance and crashed hard on my knee. I’m hoping the gaggle of impressionable young skaters around me did not hear my cursing.
A little while later, I sat in the lobby, nursing my knee and a cup of coffee. My boys, who take after their father’s skating skills, were happy to be slurping slushees, a much-preferred form of ice. Then I saw another teenager. This one wore the uniform of an employee and a pair of well-used Nikes. When a family left a table, he darted in with a broom and dustpan, sweeping popcorn, candy wrappers, and muffin crumbs off the floor. Several times, he twirled away from the table just before the next family sat down.
But as I watched him clean the floor beneath the table closest to me, he suddenly bent down on his knee and plucked a tiny toy ring off the floor. Getting quickly to his feet, he raced toward the family who had just left and returned the toy jewelry to the little girl. She gave him a grateful smile.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of “Little Big Moments,” a collection of mini-essays about parenting, and “Tigers, Mice & Strawberries: Poems.” Both titles are available most anywhere books are sold online. Taylor-Troutman lives in Chapel Hill where he serves as pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church and occasionally stumbles upon the wondrous while in search of his next cup of coffee.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.
