The skater's story

Peter Falk

Once upon a time there was an ice skater. He enjoyed skating, and people enjoyed watching him skate. They often commented on how well he could do it. "Notice how he skips over the rough ice," they would say. "He never seems to lose his balance, and his endurance is remarkable. It is as though he never tires."

One day, the skater received an invitation to earn his keep skating on another Pond in another town. This other Pond already had a talented ice skater they had hired previously, but the Keepers of the Pond felt it necessary to have another hired skater--the Pond was growing larger all the time, and the Keepers wanted the hired skaters to teach their people how to skate better.

The hired skaters worked--and worked--and worked. Their efforts were rewarded. People began to skate--and skate gracefully. Soon others were attracted by the fine skating and joined in. Another skater was hired as well, to work with some of the younger skaters. The people of the Pond supported the skaters they had hired, treating them very well.

One day, one of the hired skaters slipped and fell. The ice beneath him cracked. He had ventured out too far, had skated too many miles, and had not noticed that the ice beneath him was very thin. Down he went into the icy waters. Fear gripped his heart as he attempted to hold on to the slippery, thin edge. Every time he tried, the ice would break, and down he would go. There seemed no hope, no chance of rescue.

His plight, however, did not go unoticed. The skater's team captain and his wife had noticed the skater as he ventured out. They had warned him on several previous occasions that he was skating on thin ice. They saw him slip and the ice give way. They saw the skater's wife attempting the difficult task of rescuing her husband. The captain and his wife also ventured out onto the ice, crawling to prevent further cracking. "Hold on," they cried out. "Take our hands."

And so he did. He reached out and held on for all his might. The skater's wife, with the assistance of the captain couple, began to move inch by inch toward solid ice. They could take no rest, for if they did, the skater would surely drown.

There were some who observed what was happening but did not comprehend the dilemma the skater was in. "He looks fine," they commented. "He is an experienced, strong skater. Surely he just needs to crawl back onto the ice."

"Get up," they called to him.

"Leave him and he will be fine," they cried out to the rescuers. "We see no injury. We see no blood. What is his problem? Does he need to make such a spectacle of himself just to gain some rest?"

What these observers did not know was that the skater could not get back onto the ice by himself. The icy waters had removed all feeling from his body. All that was left within him was a a hollow numbness. Never had anything like this happened to him before. He had always seen himself as a strong skater. Now all was lost. "I am finished," he said to himself.

Some people felt a thin ice expert should be called in, but the skater did not feel safe with anyone else. He was afraid to let go of the trio's hands.

Many others on and around the Pond reached out to help the skater, but he asked that they not get too close for fear that the thin ice might break further. Some understood his request and kept their distance, but some wondered why, in a moment of need, the skater would choose to exclude them. The skater had little energy left to deal with these concerns. He focussed only on those nearest him, and on once again finding strong ice.

The skater finally recognized that someone with thin ice experience was needed, and he reluctantly consented to allow a thin ice expert experienced in working with fallen skaters to join in the rescue attempt. The trio slid to the side as the expert took a firm grip of the skater's hand. As the skater realized that the expert's grip was firm, a grip to be trusted, he slowly released his grip on the captain couple and focussed on the grip of the thin ice expert. This proved to be his wisest choice yet, as--inch by inch--he made his way to stronger ice.

What happened in the end? The story is not yet finished, but the skater is no longer in the cold water. He is now a short distance from the gaping hole, still cold and exhausted from the ordeal. The ice beneath him is not strong, but the grip of the thin ice expert is, and the love and support of the skater's wife continues to sustain him. The skater is confident that he will now make it to safety. The skater also is beginning to realize his need to rely on others. He is also humbly grateful for unceasing support from the Creator of Life, Love and Ponds.

Peter Falk

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