Get me a Bucket....

Did you know I’m a champion bucket drag sledder?  I know you’re asking, “What exactly is a bucket drag sledder?”  I know, its exciting…Hold on and listen up now.  This story will really enrich your life…No, not really, but I’m writing it anyway…

All the snow as of late reminded me of a stormy January night when some of my fellow server friends and I got off work late.  We had a crappy night serving tables because the area had been hit with a pretty big snowstorm.  Regardless of the early storm warnings, the owner felt we were in for a windfall of diners and made everyone report for their shift. 

All of us reported to work and stood around a nearly empty restaurant for 5 hours.  By the time we were told to leave for the night, the interstate was closed to drivers.  My friends and I decided to make the best of the situation, which of course meant bellying up to a bar for drinks. 

After a couple hours of drinking, we decided to go play in the snow.  The parking lot was nearly empty…and an entire sheet of ice and snow.  One of my friends had a Jeep and we started out spinning it in the lot.  Then I noticed an empty bucket that had been placed outside the restaurant where we worked.

It was just a standard little Rubbermaid type bucket, but I saw its potential.   We scored some rope and created a towline from the Jeep’s bumper.  My idea entailed sitting with feet inside the bucket, your ass resting on its edge, holding the rope and getting pulled as fast as possible. Oh, and all this fun without wearing a helmet.

Although I thought my idea was brilliant, I didn’t want to be the crash test dummy, so I had my coworker test it out first (I’m a nice friend that way…plus, I cited I was a female. Lame, I know, but seemed logical at the time).  My friend tried it out first and immediately was yanked from the bucket and dragged on his belly until he had the wherewithal to let go of the rope.  I needed to perfect the technique.  So I had him go again, this time starting slower on the speed and leaning backward.  We revved the Jeep and voila!  Success.  We nearly died laughing as we watched him glide along and then do a rollover on the ground once my friend took a sharp turn in the lot…He looked like a careening bowling ball.

People were having fun but most were wiping out after half a minute or so.  Of course I was mouthing off about how lame they were for falling so quickly.  Finally my friends turned to me and told me to go give it a try…

(Cue “Chariots of Fire” music here…)

I’m the furthest thing from an athlete, but obliged.  I took the towrope and sat in the bucket.  I got myself situated and my friends gave a signal to the driver to go full speed ahead.  I found myself gliding on the parking lot atop my flimsy bucket sleigh, frigid wind in my face, ice loudly scraping beneath me.  My jubilance was short lived as I nearly wiped out, but then recovered by grabbing the rope and kind of maneuvering by steering when the Jeep took a sharp left or right turn.  It was nothing short of a bucket sled miracle.

Surprised I was able to hold my own, my friend went faster and started to do crazy turns in the parking lot…Nope, couldn’t shake me off.  I even amazed myself at my bucket sled dexterity.  At one point my friends nearly died laughing because the Jeep did a donut and I was whipped around to the driver’s side door holding my towrope, but was still standing…rather, sitting...in the bucket.  You get the jist…I didn’t fall. 

Anyway, I was crowned the champ that night and that story is still part of that restaurant’s ‘former server who worked here’ lore.  What do I remember the most from that night?  Laughing hysterically hard with friends as I froze my ass off…an absolute best memory….