SKI KING ON THE RIVER

Yes, that is my Daddy’s nickname – Ski King! Daddy grew up water skiing on the Trent River with all of his buddies. I am still amazed at how that man can ski. He has since retired, however, as we were growing up, he taught us how to ski and then, of course, showed us how it was done. I have never seen anyone like him ski. Daddy made his own wooden skis and skied on them for years. In fact, it wasn’t until about 10 years ago that he retired those skis when he broke one of them out skiing one day.  I have realized that the day he broke his ski was the day he probably retired from skiing. Let me tell you about the day Daddy broke his wooden ski. Mama was driving the boat and we were cheering Daddy on while he skied all over the Trent River.

He was slalom     skiing and the ski broke in half.  The Ski King continued on in his eloquent fashion and skied the greatest ride of his life. We were all amazed that Daddy continued to ski on a half of a ski. When climbed into the boat, we asked him how did he keep skiing on a half of a ski. He responded, “when you know you won’t be getting back up on that ski again, you ride the last ride.”

At that very moment, I do believe there was a light around him and I thought to myself, I have the coolest Daddy in the whole world. In the early days, Daddy would barefoot ski and do trick skiing. He was asked to go to go Cypress Gardens in Florida to compete but decided to stay on the farm and help his family.  To think my Daddy was so talented that he was asked to compete with the best of the best. Wow, another moment of recognizing coolness in my Daddy!

Lessons

1. Never underestimate the coolness of your Daddy.

2. Just because the ski broke doesn’t mean  you quit skiing.

3.  When you set out to do something, give it your best.

4. If you need some skis, just make your own.