51 going on 15

We are back in NYC after spending the weekend at Hugh's place on Swinging Bridge Lake near Monticello, NY. The "country place" is in the Catskills in Sullivan County. In its heyday, the Catskills were filled with resorts, weekend, and vacation homes for folks from the city. I guess it still is, but with travel so much easier and less expensive, people go farther and to more varied locations. Many of the old resorts have been taken over by New York's Hasidim, (think Amish-style Jews, but without the tidy upkeep).

We lounged about, cooked out, swam in the lake, and I spent a couple of hours paddling a kayak up and down the lake. Later in the afternoon, one of Hugh's neighbors came by with his motorboat and took us for a ride. I mentioned that I used to water ski and he asked me if I'd like to do so again. I said "yes" before I could think better of it and soon found myself in the water fumbling with skis, a tow rope, and trying to get myself into position behind the boat. This was the first time since I was a teenager that I had tried to ski. I was never an expert, but I had grown up skiing and had always enjoyed it. As I sat in the water waiting for the boat to get into position, my arms already sore from two hours of kayaking, I was just hoping not to embarrass myself.

The driver was skillful, the boat very powerful, and I soon found myself on my feet skiing again for the first time in well over 30 years. Like riding a bike, the muscle memory came instantaneously and I found that I could balance and control my movements. What didn't come back immediately was my nerve. Teenagers don't think, and it serves them well. I had a brief thought about the consequences of falling for an old guy with minimal health insurance, but the sheer exhileration of skiing again quickly put that thought out of my mind. I moved back and forth, waved to passersby, and finally jumped the wake when we got back near to Hugh's dock. My arms felt like they were 3" longer and made of rubber, and I had to swim back to the dock because I couldn't pull myself back up into the boat, but every moment of it was pure fun.

I felt like a kid again for a short time, but later have wondered if I've lost the ability to have fun.