Nervousness was not the word I felt prior to leaving the house. I swore I was going to throw up I was so scared. I was doing some serious duty praying too. Weirdly enough, the nervousness melted away (for awhile) once we got in the car. I tried not to focus on it and put "Gold Dust" on repeat. As we travelled along Sugarloaf, we passed Larry's office and for some reason the thought entered my head of how sad it must be for him to know that despite all he tried, all the phone calls and consultations on my behalf, he could not make my stomach pain go away. How crazy of me! Here I was, going to skate with Todd Eldredge and I was about to cry. Strange, I am.

Douglas was crabby because he had to tag along as cameraman and demanded two McDonald's Big Macs and a Coke. Mama made an illegal turn in a race to get there that cost us coming thisclose to getting a ticket from a cop that was behind us and actually turned his siren and lights on. I guess he had mercy for us, or either this was a lucky day for me. I don't know. Well, we got lost. Mama isn't used to coming into Duluth and it took us a good 20 minutes to get straightened out with the help of my dad on the cellphone. I was getting nervous by this point, convinced we were going to be late and this would end up a disaster, as I had anticipated.

We made it there though, and I stepped out of the car and felt the warm sun on my face. Walked into the rink, to the bathroom in which I promptly had a patented "Alisha Freak-Out", registered, and went to get my skates. Ugly things. I want my roller skates in all their shiny white glory! ;)

I laced and re-laced 5 times because they "just weren't right" and finally made my way towards the second rink. There were tons of people crammed in there, flashbulbs going off left and right. Todd was circling around the ice doing swift crossovers. His technique and speed were impressive and I noticed the very patriotic American flag on his right boot.

Richard Callaghan stood around before taking the ice. Finally, the 12:00 group was called to the ice and split into groups--"A" being for those like me (listed as "never skated/public skated") up through "D" (advanced). Richard started off with the A's and Todd with the D's. They rotated. I found it such fun to watch Richard so joyfully helping out the A group and Todd laughing and joking with the D's.

It was at this point that I got increasingly nervous. Reporters from the Atlanta Journal and even newspapers as far away as Virginia were snapping photos. Our 12:30 group was told to line up and we were organized according to skill level. Guess who was first? Uh-huh. Todd spent extra time with the A's since he got there last and the session ran over a bit. During this time, I met a new friend: A very nice lady named Paula who drove with her husband and adorable 2 year old twin sons from Orlando to be there. She approached me first and we stood around gabbing like the obsessed skating fans we are and joked that Todd was going to have to spend half the time picking us up off the ice. Finally, the time came. I took a tentative step and grabbed onto the ever-trusty safety net--the boards. My legs would not work. I was literally shaking and my legs would not bend. So embarrassing. Immediately Richard Callaghan skated over and took me by the hands. "I know you from somewhere!" "You do?!" He winked and smiled. (Yeah, I am a dork.) The ice was so rough that I had such a hard time moving along at all. That coupled with my nervousness made it a very bad skate for me. I told Richard I used to be an artistic roller skater ("but you'd never know it now!") and he just chuckled and told me "this is a little bit different. if it makes you feel any better, I can't rollerskate." "Okay, don't look down, look up at me." He instructed me--I sucked. He kept saying "it's okay, you're doing great. This is what it's all about" Yeah, uh-huh Richard. I suck. Everyone else in my group quickly got the hang of it.

About 10 minutes later, after Richard stepped away for a few moments to work with the others, the inevitable happened: I fell. HARD. On my ass. I though I broke my tailbone but I did not cry. Richard: "Oh WOW! You fall so gracefully!" (I think I've heard that somewhere before. ;) I was hurting but it was alright because, after all, I was going to skate with Todd.

We moved onto scissors. The ice-skaters call them "swizzles." I informed Richard of what they are really called and he was like, "that's strange." We soon turned to backwards "swizzles" (ugh, what a dumb word) and I actually moved along. "I always did go better backwards that forwards!" All along, I was so incredibly embarrassed. Actually, embarrassed is not the proper word. I fell four more times. Richard picked me up twice, always very kind and gracious. Well, Todd finally came over to our humble group and worked with the others. I was a stray, ending up with personal help from almost all the coaches. (I think they felt really bad for me. It was really sorta sad because one time I glanced up and this man was watching me and he had this pitiful "Oh my god, I feel so sorry for you" look on his face. It was a mixture of pity and disdain, actually--which made it all the worse.)

I was a quarter of the way across the rink when Todd said, "Okay we're doing swizzles." "We already did those." He laughed. I was the straggler. I was moving along, measly inch-by-inch, the board so close yet so far from reach, when all of a sudden, I sensed someone skating directly behind me, holding my hands. These were male hands and they were quite soft. It was TODD! (I'm thinking, "Oh god.This is so embarrassing.") I actually said, "This is so embarrassing, and Todd replies, "No, it's not. The first time I skated I was holding onto the boards for dear life. You're doing great." We finally reached the "Safe Haven" (as I prefer to term it) and he helped me turn around. "Thank you Todd." "You're very welcome." He was so smiley and I honestly believe he was fully enjoying himself. He glided over in front of us all and right then my name tag fell off. I gave a helpless look, knowing I would fall if I attempted to bend down and get it seeing as my legs would not actually bend themselves. Todd, being ever-so-kind, swooped in and retrieved it for me. It was sticky side up so he leaned down and touched it with his finger, brought it up, and handed it to me. "Oh, thank you Todd." (Everyone laughed and just grinned as I said this way cuter than I thought I did, or intended. I was just so honored to be in his presence.) Anyway, he winked, said "You're very welcome" and then said, "Okay guys, we are going to jump now." He looked over at me and we both cracked up. I said, "Uh no." He said, "I was waiting to see your reaction! It's not so bad. We're only going to jump a little bit off the ice--less than a piece of paper off." He demonstrated and the now- whizzes in my group, followed suit. Eventually, I jumped. "Oh good!" says Todd. "This is so embarrassing." "You're doing great. The first time I skated I was hanging onto the boards." (He demonstrated, going, "ahhh!" and putting his arms up like he was truly clinging and then gave me a thumbs-up. It was hilarious.)

We then exited the ice. Several people came up to me and said, "You'd better frame that name tag!" It was so cute. "I'm so jealous" one of the double salchow/scratch spin girls said.

I then peeled those stiff skates off in record time, grateful for the comfort of my sneakers. My feet (not to mention my hip and rear) hurt so badly but I'm really not complaining. I practically ran out to the parking lot where I stood in a long, long line in the blazing Georgia sun. (It's October already!) Paula's, (my new friend's) very nice husband brought me a Coke which was good since we were all so hot and we exchanged email and regular addresses and waited--and waited. But it was worth it. I was shaking by the time I got to the front of the line.

1:13 PM.

(Alisha steps up to Todd at the table.)

He totally remembered me...I'm so forgettable it's not funny.

Alisha: Todd, I wrote you a letter. (I was so far out of about at least 100 people the only one that brought him anything that I saw. I hope he reads it. And I hope it makes sense seeing as I wrote it at 4 am.)
Todd: Wow! You did? Thank you.
A: There's some silly stickers in there and that is my sucky stickfigure drawing of you--I suck almost as much at that as I do at skating.
T: Nooo, you did great. (points at the drawing and laughs)Wow! I look sooo much skinnier! I've lost weight!
(we laugh)
A: Thank you for helping me skate today. You're really an inspiration.
T: You're very welcome.
A: Can I have a hug?
T: Well sure!
(hug)
A: Thank you so very much!
T: You're so very welcome!

I then walked away and mouthed, "Oh my GOD!" One little girl jumped up and down and said, "You got a Toddles hug!" It was so cute. "I'm so jealous" those around me echoed and I felt pretty special.

So we left then and I rode home in total disbelief. My mom kept going on about how nice he was and I echoed her sentiments, piping in that Richard was so very kind as well. It's obvious that they both have such a passion for skating and truly loved helping out even those of us who cannot skate. They totally took the embarrassment edge off and thanks to them both, I did not feel near as badly as I would have.

I just want to say that I think it's wonderful that they both took time to do this. All in the name of their love of the sport and art--and it really shown through. I can't say enough about how gracious Todd was in particular (A jokester too, which was nice to see from someone who often appears serious on-ice.). I was almost floored even though I had heard about his sincerity, kindness, and down-to-earthiness before. I was almost prepared to be let down. Suffice it to say, I was not. For an Olympian, world and national champion, he was so humble and honestly one of the kindest people I have ever had the privilege of meeting in my entire life.

Anyway, I apologize for the in-articulance of this. I am still in shock and on Cloud Nine. This was written stream-of-consciousness and in the moment. I'll probably revise and elaborate later when I've got my thoughts all together.

Quite spiritual and meaningful today was to me.

Alisha