{stoopie + me, one thousand years ago}

before there was music,

there was ice skating.

i skated every day. i did the twirlies and the swirlies...

and at one point i could even land an axel!!

i was pretty much kristi yamaguchi's biggest nightmare.

クリスティヤマグチ、気をつけ！

oh, and the little outfits... don't even get me started.

yesterday, one of the greatest coaches in the business retired.

toni was loved. and feared. and inspiring.

in the way that madame boulanger probably was, in the way that miss cox is.

you know, that way when it's 5 am and someone is chasing you around the ice and you're afraid you'll get yelled at if your arms aren't straight enough or your crossovers aren't powerful enough, if your mohawks aren't sharp enough or your lunges aren't low enough. {don't forget to smile} oh to be singled out in front of your team, oy vey, you didn't want that. but still you know it will pay off. like when your team is carrying home the trophy. the trophy. whatup, trophy.

toni's teams got lots of those.