How many of you still have that treasured childhood Christmas present from the 1980’s, 1970’s, or even further back? Every time I need to find something from the back of my garage, I get transported back to 1972. Leaning against the wall is my Easy Steering American Racing Sled. The nails may be sticking out. The runners might be rusty. The paint is faded. But this sled will be part of our household for the rest of my days.
On Christmas morning of 1972, I rushed out of bed to see what Santa brought me. By the tree, I will always remember seeing presents sitting on top of something that was covered up by a blanket. However, I could see the bright red runners underneath. It was the sled that I saw at Western Auto earlier that year and begged my mom for during the entire fall. While there were other presents that year, I only remember that sled.
The sled would not only be my favorite toy, but also as in Toy Story, that sled was my best friend every winter. Before each day playing in the snow, I would take the paraffin from the top of a homemade jelly jar to wax the runners. As time went on, I would also add a cushion to the back of the sled as I grew longer than the sled. I would go sled riding all weekend and couldn’t wait until we had snow each year. I would make that long walk up the hill each time and down again to see if I could get past that last run. Many times, I would roll the sled over, hit trees and shrubs, or run it into the creek at the bottom of the hill. But I would keep going every year as long as we had snow.
As the years went by the sled wasn’t as shiny and the red paint is mostly gone, but I wouldn’t trade that sled for anything, as the memories it created are still with me today.
From all of us at The Harvest Porch, we hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and make memories like this that last a lifetime.
