💪Live from Inside the Bomb Cyclone, Gerald Ford Big Pimpin', Ski Patrol 30 years later and...

ISSUE #59 - March 15th, 2019

ONE

PERFORMANCE - Lest anyone question my commitment to the FF5, this current issue is being written from inside the heart of the Bomb Cyclone in Beaver Creek, Colorado, and to paraphrase a line from Denzel in Training Day, the Bomb Cyclone… ain’t got nothin’… on me!!

Why? Well, with the temps in the twenties and a foot of snow dropping every day, I have been comfortably carving powder down the slopes because I made a brilliant purchase of the warmest, most comfortable cold gear ever…all for twenty bucks. No joke. These Lapasa lightweight thermals I found on Amazon have been phenomenal. Smooth. No itching. Soft. And most importantly - super warm.

TWO

PRESIDENTS - Whenever I spend time in a new town I like to see who all the big buildings or parks or amphitheaters are named after to get a taste of who the local heroes are (nerdy, I know).

While in Beaver Creek I learned that President Ford, who was an excellent skier, bought one of the first ski lodges in the area, then upgraded to what essentially became a luxury Winter White House, complete with the Presidential Seal, a lap swimming pool and billiard room. The performing arts center at Beaver Creek is named after Ford and here’s a slide show of his unbelievable ski lodge here.

THREE

BOOKS - Before Steven Spielberg turned Jaws into a blockbuster movie, Peter Benchley wrote the bestselling book.

I never read Jaws, but Benchley wrote several other books in addition to the aforementioned masterpiece, one of them being White Shark, which caught my eye on a shelf at the lodge we stayed at this week. I picked it up, cruised through the first few pages and before I knew it, I stayed up late two nights in a row to finish it. Fast, hugely researched, and a very different read than I expected with several memorable characters and some brilliant, suspense-filled scenes. It came out a while ago so you can find a paperback for a few bucks if you’re interested.

FOUR

NOSTALGIA - Back in 1990 a little-known comedy called Ski Patrol hit the theaters with no A or B or C or D-list stars, but for kids directly in the target demo, namely goofy 12-16 year olds who dreamed of being ski instructors (me), it became an iconic comedy.

I hadn’t thought about the movie in twenty-five years until I found myself discussing it with a stranger, and we both reminisced about the “famous” skiing montage on the mountain, complete with insane jumps, people taking inner tubes and pool rafts down the slopes and, of course, a great song. I’d say the scene 40% holds up, but for those of you who know what I’m talking about, these two minutes bring back some great memories.

FIVE

A TREMENDOUS QUOTE:

"The best and fastest way to learn a sport is to watch and imitate a champion.”

- Jean Claude Killy

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Thank you so much for reading. You are all awesome. And I can't thank you enough for forwarding this along to your pals. And if you haven't done that yet, what are you waiting for???

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