...a retired nurse who lives on the South Hill. His name is Gary.

I could have claimed the honor for myself, as I have on more than a few opening days. But Gary was there a few minutes ahead of me. And besides, he seems like a good guy. So I waved him ahead.

We were the only two skaters as the 2014-15 Ice Palace season got underway this morning at 11.

The ice was about what you would expect at an open-air rink with temperatures as warm as they are right now. Which is to say, not good.

But the fact that the folks at Riverfront Park managed to create any kind of skating surface this month is pretty remarkable. Hats off to them.

At one point, as I was gliding near one of the corners, I heard cracking and looked down to observe fissure lines like you see when a auto-windshield star grows long spider legs before your eyes.

If I had been on a lake in winter, I would have been worried. But at the Ice Palace, my harrowing plunge would have been about an inch at most.

Walking back to the paper, I vocalized my Burgess Meredith "Penguin" impression for the benefit of some waterfowl in the river. And I thought about how Expo '74 was wrapping up exactly 40 years ago.

As I often do, I felt an urge to thank all those who made that park a part of downtown Spokane.    

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