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November / December 2014

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54 / NOVEMBER.DECEMBER.2014 RINKMAGAZINE.COM by JOHN MONTELEONE, CIRM Final cut Lessons learned around the rink I 'm not a philosophical guy. I don't think those that know me well, or those who just know me as a passing acquaintance, would mistake me for anything other than being pragmatic, probably to the point of being unrelentingly hardheaded. Though it was 20-plus years ago, I'm still able to recall the lessons I learned in a freshman-level philosophy class I took in college. I don't remember the professor's name or what the expectations of the course may have been. What kind of wisdom will he impart on an 18-year- old with little real-life experience? I do remember the tweed sport jacket he wore in class every Tuesday and Thursday while he lectured. I do recollect the general nuances of his biases. I still can't honestly tell you if the sun will rise tomorrow, though I have a pretty good idea that it will, and I'm smart enough to know I don't have the intellectual capacity to attempt to explain the major theories of truth and how they might apply to running a rink. I can tell you with some certainty that there are several "truths" that the ice industry recognizes as being more fact than fiction, more comedic than serious. If your ice resurfacer is going to break down, it will usually be Thursday night while getting in some much-needed ice maintenance before your biggest tournament of the year. Or "fate" might let you get your maintenance in — and wait to strike during your busiest time of the biggest tournament of the season. The plus side, of course, is now there are plenty of people around to help push the machine off the ice as opposed to calling in staff at 11:30 p.m. on a weeknight. If an employee is going to oversleep and needs to be called in to work, it's going to be Saturday morning. They're going to be the one in charge of opening the building. And the only one with keys. And you're out of town. And when you do get them on the phone and headed in to work, they either didn't hear their alarm, or someone must have turned it off after they went to bed. Despite the fact that you and your staff can rarely get anything right for that crazy lady with the kid that's been in your skating lessons for the past two years and is a total pain in the you-know-what, they're still going to book a birthday party with you. Even after you catch the misspelled name on the cake and have the bakery department at the grocery store fix it; even after your birthday party host calls off; even after you work your magic to convince another host to come in for this party; even after you do it all as perfectly as you and your staff can do it, Crazy Lady with the kid that's a total pain in the you-know-what is going to have a problem. The color of the frosting was supposed to be ivory, and it's clearly white. Or your party host didn't sing Happy Birthday loud enough. These truths have happened. They're going to continue to happen, because they have to happen, as surely as the sun rising tomorrow. Have you done what you can to be proactive — to make your own truth? J "THERE ARE MANY TRUTHS OF WHICH FULL MEANING CANNOT BE REALIZED UNTIL PERSONAL EXPERIENCE HAS BROUGHT IT HOME." — John Stuart Mill Deep Thoughts from a Rink Philosopher

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