(Written by a former physics teacher in Shanghai.)

          "Have you ever been to Mt. Hood?  It was Barbara, the leader of the English Learning Center who asked me, and I responded that I'd been on a mountain near Seattle, but couldn't remember being on one near Portland.  She planned on taking two young students from Argentina and wanted me to go, too.  I had never tried to ski and declined on the pretext that I had class.  That didn't bother her a bit; she said I could ask to have my class cancelled.

          When my tutor heard that I planned to cancel in order to go to Mt. Hood, he was astonished.  He asked what I was going to do there, and I didn't know what to say, as I wasn't sure.  He couldn't imagine me skiing, and asked if I'd ever been on a sled, and I said that I hadn't.  He explained how children slide down slopes on a sled and drew a picture of one, but said that he expected that I'd be on a bobsled that can hold up to eight people.  I told him that I'd never done anything like that, and he said that I was a bit old to start.  He knows that I've been retired a long time.

          Before I went to Mt. Hood, I noted that it was Friday, the 13th, and that wasn't good news.  I've always been a little superstitious and worried about having an accident, but hoped that nothing bad would happen.

          Upon arrival at the mountain, we decided to have lunch first.  A restaurant was near the parking lot , but we had to get up quite a slope to get there.  Walking was a little difficult, and it tired me out as I followed the others to the restaurant.  On the way up to the second floor, I thought to myself that I certainly didn't want to give everyone the impression that I was weak, but I noted in a mirror we passed that my face was unusually pale.  That was probably a lack of oxygen from the increased altitude.

          Our table was beside a window, and I could see people skiing on the slopes above us.  I had no idea what we would do.

          When we finished lunch, I had recovered my usual amount of energy and felt comfortable, but I was conscious of the fact that I'm starting to feel like I was a but old for all of this.

          Barbara took us back to her car to get ready, and she had brought ski pants for the two students and a pair of gloves for me.  All of us had warm jackets.

          It was then that I learned we weren't going to ski; we were going to slide down a hill on plastic saucers.  Three of them were round and one was oblong.  I chose a big circular one with handles so I'd be safe. 

          Walking on the road covered with snow was difficult, but when we finally got up the hill, I saw that it wouldn't be dangerous as it wasn't very steep.  I carefully sat on the saucer and feeling very happy and comfortable slid to the bottom of the slope. 

          I then did it a second time, and even thought about a third, but decided against it for it took so much energy to walk up the hill each time.  The snow was very deep, and as I lifted each knee in turn to find a place for my foot, it was hard to keep my balance.  I finally solved the problem by using my saucer as a cane, and I managed not to fall.

          The students slid down the hill many times even though one of the two fell several times.  They made a snowman after we'd been there quite a while, and afterwards I search for a safe way to walk back to the car.

          It was an interesting activity, and I had a lot of fun.  I was appreciative of Barbara's generosity in inviting me.  It was the first and only time I had ever used a device like the one I sat on to slide down the hill.  It made me feel so brave that I thought that if given the opportunity I'd like to try parachuting.  In spite of my age, I don't feel all that old, and I'd like to try many more activities that I've never done.