Zen and the Art of Speedskating

To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward.
~Margaret Fairless Barber, The Roadmender

My father is a photographer, and as a kid, I always had a camera in my hands. Starting out with plasticy 110mm cheapos, evolving to a chunky East German made SLR, then finally now one of the highly evolved canon digital elphs, my father has given me every camera I own, and now, looking at a lifetime of photos. I feel completely wealthy with memory!! Thanks Dad!! On the right is my first time ever on a geared bike (look, I’m already reaching for a bigger gear!! I must be 8ish in that photo, hey dad, do you remember??)

Yet memory has a cost, fill your mind and soul with too much of it, and it can obscure or weigh down the future, balance is the key

Right now, to find balance, I need to edit down my lifetime of photos, currently about 8 boxes of them!!! I need to cut that down to 2 or 3 at max. So I am at present engaged in going though these boxes, photo by photo. Keeping a handful, 2-3 from each roll, and tossing out garbage bag fulls. So many pictures, people & places I had not thought about in forever (soundtack for this post: Paul Mcartney’s “in my life”)

What does this have to do with Zen and the Art of Speedskating? When I was first thinking of REALLY commiting to training, I wrote to the Connecticut speedskating coach Al Forsyth, who himself took this same path in the mid 80’s. I flatly asked him for his advice, here is what he wrote to me.

I threw it all away for two years and have absolutely no regrets. I
was lapping everyone in long track races here in the east and decided to take it to the next level. I STILL have great friendships from that period and have fantastic memories. I wouldn’t have know Eric Flaim and witnessed his rise to the top. When we were skating together he was doing a lot of the tagging along with us - although he may say otherwise…..

Andrew - if the desire is really burning and still is there - you have
to find a way or you may regret it. Worth it on a one year trial basis
but you would have to change locales - out to Salt Lake, Milwaukee, or Calgary.

Al, you are right, the desire is there, and I will have so many intense memories from this next year. So here’s to the memories!!! that are still to come!! What does one really have, upon reflection? a back account? what truly is wealth? but family, freinds, and memories…

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