This is the best example of that oft-repeated verity,
"They Don't Make 'em Like That Anymore."
I drew this pen and ink sketch of the "Flexible Flyer" from memory back in 1985. From memory? Yep; to this day I remember each and every red steel runner and slat on the greatest sled ever made. It was on the top of my wish list every Christmas, but alas, it was not to be. The Glover finances were unable to purchase the Lexus of sleds. This week, I saw many children "sledding" on the hills around the library. Not a "belly flopper" among them! And do you know what else? All the sleds are made of plastic polymer! Bummer! Half of the fun of belly flopping was to break into a fast run to the top of that hill, dive headlong into the blue and land on that sled and coast all the way to north Jersey....well, maybe not that far, but it sure did outdistance those plastic "hi-tech" sleds of today.
On Chewalla Drive, when there was a cooperative driver, we'd make a chain of sledders - the first would grab onto a car's bumper, then the next would grab the first's foot, and so on . . . and off we'd go. The older kids would even "hitch" to a car that wouldn't stop for a rider - VERY dangerous, but no one ever got hurt.
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