The Great Raleigh Sled Runs

Basking in insanely hot and humid Phnom Penh this afternoon at my fitness club pool at the Phnom Penh Himawari Hotel, I just read the latest from back home —a snowy March day in Raleigh.  Got me to thinking about those snow days and the snow-covered hills we used to gleefully attack, albeit with a bit of apprehension, on our Flexible Flyers.

Devonshire

Not many ( if any) could make that terrifying turn on Devonshire without dragging their feet, and the steep grade that followed was such a fast downhill run that attempting to make it safely past Nottingham and over the narrow foot bridge that crossed icy Banbury Creek at the bottom of Devonshire was very risky.   A few sleds did crash into the bridge railing, while a number went sailing into the air, splashing into the shallow creek below.  Stunned and startled and often laughing, a few of our brave bundled-up, wet, and shivering friends saw the Devonshire run as a rite of passage—and it surely was. I can almost feel that chest bruise from so many years ago, when I missed that bridge completely, my sled landing a hard splat onto the creek's ice and snow-covered rocks. Ouch! To me Devonshire Drive set the standard, and was in a neighborhood where David Miller and Jimmy Edwards, David Brim, and Clifton Lee, and a lot of other classmates of ours lived.

Everyone had their favorite Hills. To name a few--Yarmouth in Coley Forest, Manuel in Beckanna, Churchill, Grant, Leonard Street, Ruffin, and, of course, the two great runs along the fairways of the Carolina Country Club.

I know I left out some of your favorites....

 

I do miss that seasonable weather and the snow sledding back in Raleigh.

Bonfires, snowball fights, tackle football on soft, slippery snow ....Hikes through that snow to find a dry basketball court at the old Armory at Pullen Park.  Then trudging back through that snow to the Gateway Restaurant for 'hot hamburger' platters.....And those evenings racing down our favorite hills, some of those slopes with oil drums filled with flame and heat, and maybe a tractor pull-back up to the top. Pretty girls with rosy cheeks and pulled-down toboggans.....I miss those snowy days in Raleigh when we were so young.  :-)

Losing sight of my two yelping, happy hounds frolicking in deep snow banks out front of Broughton on a snowy night….

From Phnom Penh 

The Himawari pool

That pool is a lifesaver in steamy Phnom Penh.

I really do miss the snow--hope you are enjoying it with family and friends. 

Dan(ny)

So sorry to hear about Jimmy Barnes (What a wonderful guy he was)

Great article Dan. I never did any sledding in your neighborhood because we had the hill of all hills coming off of Ridge Road down Lake Boone Trail to the Beltline.  I remember those terrible ice storms we used to get in Raleigh.  Our yard was filled with large oak trees.  I can hear those limbs breaking and crashing to the ground.  Power lines would be broken and power would be out for several days sometimes. My mother would take all the food out of the refrigerator and put it on the screened in porch. It was impossible to go up the street to Ridge Rd., but people would try and you could hear their tires screeching trying to get traction to get up the hill all day long.  Those brave enough to come down the hill would ride their brakes, and some would lose control and go crashing into another car or go off the road into the ditch.

I was living in Eugene, OR and visiting my parents in Raleigh in 1982 when I ran into Jim Edwards in Chapel Hill.  Jim had just finished medical school at UNC at the age of 32.  He had decided to change careers, and I thought that was amazing to go back to school for so many years. I think he had an engineering degree from NC State.  I wish I had his contact info.

I barely knew Jimmy Barnes, but I admired him because he didn't let his disability hinder him at all.  People all respected him because he was a brave soul.  

From Rionegro, Colombia where we have flowers blooming all year long - eternal spring.  Heading to Colorado soon for some skiing.  

They say the prettiest girls in the world come from Colombia.  :-)

I once hit a tall aspen as I was coming down a steep slope at a pretty good clip while cross-country skiing at Steamboat Springs, Colorado (along Rabbit Ears Pass).  I must have looked like Wile E Coyote with a ski leg sticking out from each side of the tree. (Ouch!)  I thought they were going to need a helicopter to get me back up that hill.  Remember a goatskin of George Dickel softeniing the blow.  :-)

Hey Barry,

I forgot about that great sled run down Lake Boone Trail--a really long ride!

Dr. James Edward's story is an amazing one. Jimmy went to Frances Lacy and Leroy Martin like we did, lived beside David Miller and had a concrete basketball court up against the back of his house--growing up, we guys spent a lot of hours shooting hoops on that court.  Remember David Miller's uncanny accurancy with that set shot of his taking many of us down in games of H-O-R-S-E. 

Jimmy's dad was principal of Fred Olds School on Dixie Trail--like Jimmy, a great guy.

In the wee hours from my place in Phnom Penh.

Dan(ny)