Iowa Sky (1148 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.8 on 16 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Genko (View user info) at 2004-06-02 23:56:05 EDT
Iowa Sky
I was eighteen years old when I made the AHL.
I got picked up as a free agent by the Manitoba Moose, so I moved to Winnipeg straight out of high school. I was never that great a skater, but I had a wicked slap shot and I knew how to fight. I was in Winnipeg for two months before they called up a rookie and traded me away. I think it had something to do with the fact that I slept with the coach's daughter.
I played for the Milwaukee Admirals for the rest of that season; I'm still trying to forget both the season and the city. We didn't make the playoffs, I got barely got any ice time, and my neighborhood was full of snobby hippies.
I was happy to get out of there. Due to some legal problems, I couldn't leave the country, so I ended up spending the summer with my teammate, who was from Sioux City, Iowa. We usually worked out during the day and our nights we spent in bars and clubs. Sioux City is a small town pretending to be a big city, but it has good night life. We'd mostly visit cougar bars, looking to get laid. I only put three pucks in the net my whole career, but that summer, I scored all the time. Older women are great in bed, because they know what they're doing and they know not to call the next day.
About mid-June, I did something quite strange: I quit sleeping with cougars. I had met a girl. A young, pretty, Iowa girl named Eileen.
She was a pretty girl with little breasts and a bright future. Her most redeeming quality was her virtue. She left the bar with me the night we met. When we got to her place, she offered to make coffee. I thought we were going to have coffee and then have sex, but we ended up playing checkers until morning. We watched the sunrise together and then I left, walking home disgusted at the fact that I hadn't gotten laid and still strangely intrigued as to how I had enjoyed myself. I wasn't drunk, I wasn't stoned, and I had just had the best games of checkers in my life.
I started hanging out with her more after that. That was the kind of stuff we did, too. Checkers. Watching the stars. I even taught her to skate. I don't remember that stuff though; I just remember her. She had beautiful blue eyes, soft brown hair that cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall, and a smile that lit up the hearts of everyone around her. All I remember about Iowa, though, is the sky. It stretched into eternity, wearing a blanket of stars by night and a sheet of blue silk by day. It was all around, never loud, but never quite silent as it loomed over everything. She seemed to embrace that sky, wrapping herself up in it in some surreal entanglement of beauty. Under that sky, Eileen and I had the best times of our lives. We were always together, and that summer I fell in love with a sweet, innocent Iowa girl.
I had a two year contract with Milwaukee. I was getting ready to head back there. We wouldn't see each other that much, but with only ten hours of driving between us, I figured we could make time. That would all change with a phone call. We were together when it came; picked up the phone to the voice of the general manager in Milwaukee.
"The front office staff drafted some hotshot from Finland. They say he could turn into a superstar."
My stomach sank. My boss would only be telling me about the draft for one reason.
"He's going to be playing with us for a while, so we needed to free up a spot on the roster."
Oh shit.
"We've traded you to Hamilton."
I knew instantly what this meant. Hamilton was too far away from Iowa. I wouldn't have time for Eileen during the season.
"Okay, Jim. I'll be in Hamilton by the start of training camp."
The words fell out of me without thought as I hung up the phone and turned to face Eileen. She already knew what I was about to tell her. We spent that night drinking coffee and playing checkers at my place. She left after we watched the sunrise. I never saw her again, and seven months later she invited me to her wedding. I couldn't bring myself to go.
My season in Hamilton was the best one of my career. I picked up 2 goals and 19 assists. Despite the performance, Hamilton didn't express any interest in renewing my contract, and I never played another professional hockey game.
So now I'm 22, I live in a run-down steel mill town far from my home, I love hockey, and I'm pretty sure that I'll never meet another Eileen.
User Reviews
Submitted by strwbryfanatic (user info) at 2005-03-30 01:49:47 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Extremely cool. EXTREMELY.
Except I love the Admirals.
I cannot tell you how frickin cool that is that you played for the Admirals.
Maybe I saw you play a game. I bet I was there...
GO ADMIRALS, WOOOOO!!!!!
Submitted by polyamorousaj (user info) at 2005-03-30 01:31:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Since Snuggles is banned, this will turn into a perfect +2.
Submitted by girlintheworld (user info) at 2004-12-02 02:41:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Sad
Submitted by hidden101 (user info) at 2004-12-02 02:40:04 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by MandaPanda (user info) at 2004-12-02 02:10:54 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Wow, this was an awesome story.
It wasn't too "over-the-top" with detail and you still managed to express your emotions quite vividly.
You're one of my favorites.
Submitted by heater (user info) at 2004-08-13 11:45:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Heat on the ice, baby! Wooo! Hockey.
Submitted by Genko (user info) at 2004-06-03 21:26:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Sadly, that's the best action shot that I could find in digital form. I'll scan one if I ever write about my hockey career again.
Submitted by Genko (user info) at 2004-06-03 19:49:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Yep, true story.
That's my foot behind the dude taking the faceoff.
Submitted by gain (user info) at 2004-06-03 17:16:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
ignore the 'how old are you' question
Submitted by gain (user info) at 2004-06-03 17:16:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
is this true? i live in hamilton. That's a bittersweet story. How old are you now? you should try out again.
Submitted by Random Joe at 2004-06-03 09:52:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
PS - AJ you fucking suck.
Your little heart looks like an ass awaiting penetration... <3 C=====8
Submitted by Random Joe at 2004-06-03 09:50:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Solid.
Check this out...
http://www.makingthecut.bell.ca
Submitted by antluvdog (user info) at 2004-06-03 00:33:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
True story?
Submitted by youarsoghey (user info) at 2004-06-03 00:31:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
FUCK OFF. No way this is true! Please tell me you made the AHL!
Submitted by Snuggles_The_Assassin (user info) at 2004-06-03 00:05:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Snuggles shrugs his shoulders.
Submitted by polyamorousaj (user info) at 2004-06-02 23:59:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Jeez. No beer ... no opera dogs ...
-- Homer Simpson
Bart the Genius
I <3 Iowa.