Mercer County Park Ice Rink, 1/11/09, 2pm

Graham surprised me by wanting to go skating, and even more by putting on those uncomfortable skates. But he made it around the rink with me twice, holding my hand and leaning on me seriously.

Natalie -- with Margaret -- hung by the sides of the rink for a while but eventually found her feet and started skating around quite reasonably. During the apres hot chocolate, she declared that this was precisely her 5th time skating, which I do not doubt.

The rink quite the place, right out of Robert Moses with its rough-hewn concrete clubhouse and fireplace. I'm not used to hearing country radio blasted in fairly urban New Jersey areas, and the the only break from white people was a small handful of Asians, right next to where they have the Indian fair in summer. I guess it's a cracker pastime.

But it was plenty fun, with numerous pairs of "substantially identical" (as the wash sale rule says) teenage girls skating around arm and arm, and the skating guard nerds, and the kids clustered round to watch the Zamboni during the break, it was all good.