A Canadian Player

My eyes well up with tears as I recall my dad, sisters, neighbors and I cleaning the "frog pond" in the refreshing chill of winter mornings during the early 60's. With our regular Saturday morning chores finished we headed for the "frog pond" with shovels in hand. Together we cleared the ice for an afternoon of skating and perhaps a game of hockey with the kids on the hill. Often a stand of bulrushes forced their way through the ice and snow, but dad always remedied that with the sharp edge of a long-handled home-made scraper. Dad was a great skater and was always delighted to watch, or sometimes participate in our neighborhood hockey games.

Our immediate neighborhood consisted of four families, all with seven or more children and the seven younger children in our family were all girls. However, that did not stop us from participating in the neighborhood hockey games. Those were the days of fierce competition between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadians, so out of loyalty to my father's love for the "Canadians," I always played on the "Canadians" team.

My most memorable game, was the day I was "picked" to play in nets for our up and coming team. With hand me down skates and no shin pads or other goalie gear I made my debut as team goalie. I cringe now as I think of the pucks forcefully shot along the ice by the neighborhood boys. Boom! Right on the shins! But I stopped those pucks!

As the game continued I proved to have the skills and the nerve it took to help our team reign victorious that cold afternoon. I was the shining goalie that day and not only that, my shins shined with bruises proving that regardless of the cost, I was a dedicated "Canadian" player. Through my tears I recall the gleam in our father's eyes and the "Canadian" smile on his face as he watched his stars on the ice performing on the neighborhood "frog pond." Although these were lean years for most of us, truly they were filled with a richness we shared through being part of large families, families who lived in a neighborhood sharing a very special "frog pond."

(c) Viola Doncaster, May 3, 2001.