As the 2008/2009 cross country ski season draws to a close I find myself thinking about the kind of year it has been. There have been good things. The winter in the Chicago area was as snowy as it has been in years. That’s two snowy winters in a row – maybe a trend is developing. Our trip to the UP was the best in years with excellent snow conditions at ABR, Wolverine and the Porcupines. On the other hand the trip to Traverse City was hit with a major meltdown, although it was interesting to ski in 50 degree weather. Ultimately the trip was cut short due to the rapidly disappearing snow.

Back on the positive side we had excellent participation at the Birkie, with 24 member/friends participating in the Birkebeiner or Kortelopet, 2 in the Prince Haakon and 5 in the Cheqtel family race/ski. I have vivid memories of the time Paulette Young and I spent waiting on main street as in succession a skier finished who had skied the Birkie with no poles; a now elderly female skier with a red founders bib 4 (the only female founder), an 85 year old skier, a skier carrying one ski and skiing on the other, the two Birkebeiners carrying a real life infant child and two skiers who had skied over 30 miles only to fall 100 meters from the finish line (both got up after what seemed like an eternity to the cheers of the crowd).

Overall the theme that sticks in my mind is the word “serendipity”. Webster’s defines it as “an instance of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for”. This happened to the Nordic Fox Ski Club and me in the form of Lubo Kristin and Cheryl Rose Pinto. Lubo was visiting from Slovakia and came to us by way of one of our flyers at REI followed up by an email to the club. Lubo was in the United States for the winter and looking for fellow cross country skiers. I emailed him back, loaned him a pair of my skis which he used through out the winter. He began by knowing no one in the club but ended up making many friends at the club at meetings, on the UP trip and the Birkie. This culminated in a celebration his 57^th birthday at the Birkie and a farewell dinner in his honor. I hope we will see him again in the future.

Cheryl is a Canadian citizen who came by way of Nairobi Kenya and Toronto Canada and is presently here on a work assignment. Like Lubo she picked up a flyer at REI and contacted the club. Cheryl also knew no one in the club and had very limited cross country skiing experience. I found that she quickly made friends and as demonstrated on the down hills on the UP trip has little fear of trying new things. She is a joy and has my gratitude for being instrumental in setting up the farewell dinner for Lubo. I hope her work assignment lasts for a very long time so she can join us for the 2009/2010 season.

Art