When I was 8 1/2, I wrote my first fan letter. It was to Kurt Browning. I loved him. Who could blame me? In 1992, the man had shiny pants, crazy hair, the most charisma I’d ever seen on the ice, and he looked like, well, Canada. I was proud of the man.
The Albertville Olympics were the first Olympic games I remember being excited for. And when the Men’s Short Program aired, I was glued to the black-and-white TV set in the family room.
He had to win.
And he fell.
I have a strange memory. Because I remember how I felt, not the specifics of his performance. I remember running into the living room, hiding any reaction that was splashed across my little face. I sat at the piano and pretended to suddenly care about practicing. For the first time in my life, I played the piano because I was sad. Because I was disappointed and frustrated and wanted to hug a stranger and didn’t know what to do about it.
That same piano still lives with me. His name is Doug. From my tears for Kurt to my confusion over boys who cannot skate at all, he’s seen me through…life.
Ladies and gentlemen, the event that first turned music into therapy:
Have you seen Kurt Browning teach Daniel Cook to figure skate? So much fun. I like kids.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I thought it was going to be dane cook learning how to figure skate. But then I was wondering why you said I like kids. cute video though. the Kurt Browning teaching Daniel Cook to skate, not the one where he falls.
I remember being crushed by that event as well…so much so that I couldn’t even click on your link and rewatch it, knowing the heartbreak I would feel all over again. Tears for Kurt indeed.