Desperate to Go Skiing – Part l
Credit: igoriss
While this little episode doesn’t involve skiing per se, it does involve skis in the deep south in June 1968 right after I graduated from college and was commissioned into the U.S. Navy. My orders directed me to report for flight training in Pensacola, FL on June 10th, 1968. From Sudbury, MA, back then it was a good two-day drive so my departure date was Friday, June 7th.
Everything I owned of importance was in my car. In the back I had an Air Force B-4 bag full of my brand-new set of uniforms, a conventional suitcase with civilian clothes, a small bag to carry into the motel on my day on the road and of course, a boot bag with ski boots and a large duffle bag with ski clothes.
On the roof ski rack, I had four pairs of skis. In case you are curious, they were Kästle Snow Prince 200 cm. slalom skis, 207 cm. Dynastar MV2 GS skis, and pair of Head 224 cm. downhill skis. The fourth pair were my rock skis, a well-used pair of Head 207 cm GS skis for when the snow is, as it was last year, sparse. Back then, I used the downhill skis for powder or soft snow.
Why so many skis? I taught skiing while I was in college and was a ski racer. Hence the variety of skis.
Yes, it’s a lot of skis and yes, it’s a lot of drag which cuts mileage, but at 17 cents a gallon for high test and car that got over 30 on the highway, who cared. I was about to be, at least in a year or so, a Naval Aviator.
My first night on the road was spent just south of Richmond. Next stop was someplace between Atlanta and Montgomery. I was feeling pretty good in Atlanta and when I stopped for gas in Auburn, AL, I decided to drive all the way to Pensacola. That would get me there late on the night of the 8th.
When I got to Evergreen, AL to turn south on Florida Highway 87 to Pensacola, I figured there would be an open gas station off I-65. Nope. It was Saturday night and all the stations were closed.
Looking at the gas gauge, I figured I could make Pensacola but I would be arriving at what Naval Aviators call, “low state.” Which in Naval Aviation speak is really low on gas.
Coming into Brewton, AL, the lights were on at a Shell Station and an attendant was inside. Breathing a sigh of relief, I pulled in and with the gas tank full and my bladder empty, I asked the attendant if he would take a travelers’ check.
“Wuts theyaat?” His drawl was very noticeable.
“It is a check guaranteed by a bank. They’re as good as cash once I sign it.” I tore a $20 American Express Traveler’s check and handed it to him. He flicked it with his finger, looked at my car with the skis on top and I am sure he looked again at my Massachusetts license plate.
He looked at me as he handed me the unsigned check and said, “Ahhh don’t think Ahhh cain take this here check. It looks like fake Yankee city slicker money to me!”
I gave him cash and drove to Pensacola and the guards at the gate endorsed my orders saying I arrived at 11:38 p.m. By one, I was still shaking my head as I tried to go to sleep in my room at the Batchelor Officers Quarters at Naval Air Station Pensacola. Welcome to the Deep South.
Part II – Coming on Nov 6.
- Desperate to Go Skiing – Part II - November 4, 2026
- Desperate to Go Skiing – Part l - October 22, 2026
- Musings from Whistler - March 19, 2026
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