Happy World Poetry Day

I’m sitting here inside my home,

Thinking I should write a poem.

I’ve turned my brain inside and out,

But I can think of nothing to write about.

I could write about my failing health,

Or of my woeful lack of wealth.

I could write of missing all my friends,

But that is a sadness that never ends.

I could write about a long lost love,

But it’s too depressing even to think of.

I could write of all my hopes and dreams,

But I really have none left, it seems.

I’ve nothing left to write, I think.

I just might go and have a drink.

Oceanside Ice Arena

Today is a very sad day for many Valley residents, especially those who are familiar with Oceanside Ice Arena. As somebody who grew up in central Phoenix, I didn’t spend an awful lot of time at Oceanside, which is in the East Valley. But as a Hockey fan, I am definitely familiar with it. 

Oceanside Ice Arena sits in a sparse, industrial area between Tempe and Scottsdale. Its name derives from its proximity to the former site of Big Surf water park, a miniature, man-made ocean in the desert (the first of its kind in the U.S.). 

For nearly fifty years the Arena has housed Hockey in one form or another. I remember as a kid going to watch Phoenix Roadrunners Old-Timer teams play exhibition games at Oceanside. The Oceanside Sharks were a Junior Hockey team that played out of Oceanside way back when and I played with and against some of those guys in various adult leagues later on. In the 1980s I watched the Edmonton Oilers practice there on their way to somewhere. When I worked for the Phoenix Roadrunners IHL team we would occasionally practice there when the ice at AVMC was unavailable. I myself played in their adult league for a season or two and played in a regular pick-up game there many times.

In more recent times, the ASU Hockey program called Oceanside home for many years before moving to the new Mullett Arena.

Today is a sad day because it will be the last day of skating at Oceanside Arena. As I write this, they are hosting an event to say goodbye to the old rink. I haven’t skated there in probably at least 20 years, but somehow it feels like losing a part of me, of my life. I still have my memories, some good and some not so good, but somehow knowing it’s gone has me feeling melancholy. Due to health issues I was not up to attending, but maybe it’s just as well. It would have been too sad, like losing an old friend.

Good bye, Oceanside. You were a treasure and you will be missed.

Me and the Bee