Devonne Brown

When there’s a foot of snow on the ground one cannot always count on a garbage bag to carry one to the bottom of a perfect and steep hill, not even with a head start.

The snow was hard powder and ripe for sledding. A black trash bag had been all I had needed before to get to the bottom of the very same hill many times before. I would lie on my stomach, push off of the porch and practically fly down the hill. Always at the bottom of the slope, I had to catch myself with my hands to avoid going into the road. 

The ratio of sledding people who died under the wheels of moving  cars was high, especially at night. The streetlights were the only light available to me when I was able to use my dark green bags to descend the hill on my belly and feel the wind in my face, blow through my hair, and love the taste of freedom at last.

After several successful rides down the deep and dusty drifts of snow, I decided to fly off the porch. Imagine if you will, the feeling of true flight, the landing, and sliding faster and faster than ever down, down, down, the hill to the road. My only worry was to be able to catch myself before I hit the ice at the bottom of the hill, the busy road. I wasn’t quite ready to die. I could read the headlines then, “Veteran Teacher Dies in Sleigh Riding Accident After Jumping Off of Porch.” Headlines be damned.

My friends, Marianne and Billy warned me of the consequences once more. I pooh poohed their admonishment and climbed onto their porch. It was five feet off the ground, three and a half feet from the snow drift. 

I would get a running start, launch, and glide down that hill fast enough to break Guinness World records. Marianne put them on speed dial.

I ran, I jumped, I sunk into a foot of snow and stayed there. My breath left my body. I heard Marianne and Billy howling with laughter from the porch where I jumped. They were doubled in half with tears in their eyes. They laughed so hard.

I landed five feet from the porch face down in the snow, a garbage bag beneath my belly. Once my breath returned the best I could do was make a snow angel and vow to never do that trick again.