Thursday, November 23, 2006
The Rink
I would like to start by wishing all my American readers a Happy Thanksgiving. You know we Canucks are jealous of that holiday, because our thanksgiving is so lame and too early. All the best to you, dear friends.
Speaking of Americans, I was wondering: What do American towns, especially Southern ones, do without a rink?
This past weekend, my family and I went out for the breakfast special at a local rink where our oldest son takes curling lessons. The meal came with a heaping side-order of patriotic nostalgia.
I should stop here and explain, for the benefit of American readers, that curling is a winter sport that's like shuffleboard on ice. It is, shall we say, a low-impact sport. In my hometown rink, back before anti-smoking laws, there used to be ashtray stands strategically placed every six feet along the side of the ice. People fool themselves that they curl for fitness, but it's really about the socializing.
There's a hit comedy in Canada called Corner Gas that's filmed in our neck of the woods. It's a sitcom set in a typical Saskatchewan small town. In their famous curling episode, a curling team loses a long-time player, an elderly woman, because she is hospitalized with a broken hip. Grudgingly, the team agrees to allow a newcomer from Toronto to replace her. This city-slicker is, naturally, hopeless at the game. Mere hours before the tournament starts, the old team member suddenly reappears, hobbling on a walker and towing an oxygen tank. The team unceremoniously dumps the Torontonian and welcomes back the invalid.
Of course, there is another sport played on a rink, namely hockey. I expect I don't need to go on too much about the importance of that sport to the Canadian psyche.
In small-town Canada, the local rink is the heart of the community, a veritable citadel. In many small towns, the rink is not just the home of winter sports. It's also the local tavern, coffee shop, short-order restaurant and meeting hall. During the summer, it plays host to the town fair. Town dances and socials are held there. At election time, it is likely to be a polling station. Everything centres on the rink.
As a kid, I wasn't very athletic but I nonetheless remember spending whole weekends hanging out at the rink. We had few TV channels back in those pre-cable days and Pong was the only video game available, so there wasn't much else to do. To me, the rink was always a wonderland of childhood discovery. The underside of the bleachers was like a giant play structure. The concession sold a mouth-watering assortment of penny candies. There seemed to be an endless number of change rooms, unlocked storage closets, meeting rooms and other nooks-and-crannies to explore. Heaven knows where our parents were - watching the game, I expect - but it didn't matter because we knew and trusted all of the adults.
So much for childhood nostalgia. Here in grown-up life, I hadn't been to a rink for years before last weekend. My wife and I both expected that a city curling rink would be, you know, urban and lacking in that small-town charm. We were totally wrong. It was a honest-to-goodness slice of Canadiana right in the middle of the city. The rink patrons looked like rink patrons everywhere. The coffee tasted just as bad as in every small town. The coffee shop area was full of the same sorts of characters. One wise old owl, who was clearly revered by the younger curlers, held court and lectured his admirers about, of all things, alternatives for the expansion of broadband internet in the province. I remember hearing similar conversations 30 years ago, except I think they were about CB radios back then.
So what do American or British towns do without a rink? What's the centre of the community? I find it hard to imagine another institution encompassing the many functions of the rink, but I suppose there must be. I'd like to invite my Canadian readers to share their memories of the rink and my foreign readers to share other sorts of small-town or neighbourhood childhood memories.
posted by Mentok @ 10:23 a.m.,
11 Comments:
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At 1:50 a.m.,
Rachel said...
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ummmm yeah can't say there is really anything like that here...At least not where I am located, this is just too big of a city. But I would say that the majority of Americans are Football and Baseball happy so I am going to go ahead and say the local high school football team would be the closest thing to community.
I used to figure skate so I can relate to the rink community...But other than that LA is not really into Hockey at all. Probably because it is sunny here 360 days a year. Ever since the strike it doesn't seem to be of any real interest to anyone here...Kind of sucks too because I like Hockey.
Thanks for Thanksgiving wishes. :)
P.S. I knew of curling. -
At 10:46 a.m.,
Grumps said...
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The rink may have been big in your small town, Mentok, but not so much in my city. My memories are more of playing hockey on the street. We had a wide side street that nobody parked on so it was perfect. You don't see many road hockey games anymore. It's probably just as well because the city is full of people who are lousy, inconsiderate drivers. I wouldn't want my kids to be out there.
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At 11:08 a.m.,
Mentok said...
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rachel - yes, I'd thought about those other sports, but would the whole community congregate around them? I suppose tailgate parties might be an equivalent. There's nothing quite like the carnival atmosphere of a real American tailgate party.
It's good that you were into figure skating and like hockey. That will speed up your immigration application when you finally decide to move ;-)
grumps - you're right: What ever happened to street hockey? You hardly ever see it anymore. I don't think it's the bad drivers, since that would be just as much of a concern 30 years ago. I think its part of the sad trend in this country that hockey is more and more seen as an elite, expensive sport and less and less as a past-time for ordinary people. These days, anyone who puts their kid into hockey expects little Johny to make it into the NHL, so the coaching, fees and equipment costs reflect that. -
At 2:40 a.m.,
Rachel said...
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Seriously? Sweet!!!!
:) Yeah depending on your meaning of community I suppose...But the football games would be the only thing close to resembling anything you are referring to...You know what I mean...
hehe -
At 10:30 p.m.,
Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...
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Is this post just for American readers then, Mentok?
Anyway, just stopping by to see how you're doing and to say hello. -
At 9:11 a.m.,
Mentok said...
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" Is this post just for American readers?"
Not at all, Susan. I'd love to hear community traditions from Malaysia. -
At 9:24 p.m.,
Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...
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Hi again Mentok,
Malaysia used to be colonised by the British and even so now, they don't follow Thanksgiving here.
The big events are
the Lunar Chinese New Year (for the Chinese),
Divali (for Indians who follow the Hindu religion),
the Malays & Muslims who celebrate Ramadhan and also
the Christians who celebrate Christmas & Easter.
Overall with any striking similiarity to the West, it is Christmas, Easter & the New Year proper that hold a distinct impact for celebration & holidays.
Also, the same with Singapore. -
At 11:09 p.m.,
Bathroom Hippo said...
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What do American towns do without a rink?
We pick our noses and make war with lesser countries.
I only like curling for 2 reasons:
1) Hot chicks.
2) Hot chicks saying hot things.
Hey..did you catch that new Battlestar Galactica episode? Dude! It was so awesome... I mean I was all like...no way is he gonna do that...and he did!
Okay so I didn't watch it...I was just mocking all those who did.
Hahahaha. -
At 11:50 p.m.,
Mentok said...
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Hippo, you are so right about the appeal of curling. In what other sport do you see slim, athletic women in tartan, school-girl style mini-skirts stretched out horizontally yelling "Hard! Hard! Hurry Hard!" at the top of their lungs?
You didn't have me fooled for a minute about BSG. They're on a two-week break. There was no episode this week. Believe me, I would know. ;-) -
At 11:54 p.m.,
Mentok said...
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Susan - as a former British colony ourselves, Canada doesn't really have Thanksgiving either. We have an ersatz Thanksgiving a month and a half earlier than the Americans, but we can never seem to get the flavour of that event quite right.
But the key question is: When a rock band comes to town or there is a town festival, where do Malaysians hold it? I suppose in that hot weather you can hold it anywhere, eh? We nordic types must always plan for bad weather. -
At 10:55 p.m.,
mkecurler said...
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I have THREE curling clubs in my town! Hubby called, he got my Corner Gas DVD and Puppets Who Kill! He's over in Brampton til Wednesday. Guess my booty is on the couch this Sunday ( I really should be down at the club practicing). I wish I could come up there and play in a bonspeil!
