even more dangerous than a sling-shot

... so there I was sitting on a park bench on Cunard St trying to get my yack-tracks on. It was a little awkward getting them on but I thought it would be nice to have a little traction and, although it was February it was a mild day meaning the snow banks would be melting slightly leaving a crispy sheen on the sidewalks making it scenic to look at but easy to fall on your bum.

I always have trouble coordinating getting my left tracks on, maybe because I'm right handed I'm guessing because I have no trouble getting the right one on. So, I had the right one on no problems but the left one took 3 attempts and I was actually working up a sweat with the effort as it was like working out with tiny rubber chest- expander's. The third try I was successful but I looked at it expectantly as though it would fail. But it held so I resumed my walk. As my friend Kevin Shute at work said , " I was walking with a loaded spring of death attached to my boot!!! "

I was walking along quite fast , I wasn't in a hurry but I enjoyed the thrill of passing lesser- footed mortals in my wake. I was heading down quite a steep incline, known to Haligonian's as a steep hill!! Sure enough, I was rounding a bend, just as a bus was passing. The bus driver may have been slowing down as we were simultaneously passing a bus-stop. He saw I wasn't getting on his bus and started to pull away . To my right was a kid throwing snowballs just off the path
and he threw a snow-ball at the bus and he shot off a great shot that hit the window with a thump. The bus driver stopped to give the boy a lecture and for some reason, maybe my toe was tingling with anticipation but at that very moment my yack- tracks over-shoe shot off my left boot and like a sling- shot, my overshoe struck the rear window of the bus and shattered the glass with a tremendous crash.

I observed the look of horror on the boy's face with some glee I'm ashamed to say, and I kept walking past the bus without bothering to reclaim my over-shoe and hoped the red-faced bus driver also did not notice I only had one shoe-track on my feet instead of the usual two!!