Not very often I have a deja vu moment while en route to a Flyers event or game.
But I had one today.
Going down Torresdale Ave. in Bridesburg toward the Scanlon Ice Rink in Kensington.
I passed the house where my mom grew up, where my grandparents lived and where I spent many days as kid up to age 11.
Saw the flower shop, now empty, where my mom worked part-time and the used car lot where my grandfather sold cars part-time after retiring as an OTIS elevator engineer.
What struck me most, however, was the playground a few blocks up Torresdale from Bridge St. where grand pop would tell me stories about the Philadelphia A and the Phillies from years well before the 1960s.
There were no Flyers and the last time I was at that playground was 1964 before my grand parents moved to the far Northeast.
All these memories came rushing back as I pulled up the narrow street where Scanlon Ice Rink was.
Flyers coach Dave Hakstol was right behind me as he mingled with members of the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation to talk to the kids today and go on ice to teach them a little about hockey.
I liked what he had to say to the kids and he said it in terms they could understand, too.
“You learn a lot of thing about life and learn a lot of things about yourself,… Hakstol told them of the Scanlon program. “Most importantly, you get the opportunity to be part of a team and be a good teammate.…
Hakstol spoke to 21 kids at the camp. About 70 are there daily, though not all are involved in hockey itself.
This ice rink, BTW, was used by San Jose and Buffalo in the past two years when Wells Fargo ice was not available. Pretty good ice and very cold facility, too.
Ed Snider and the City of Phila. pumped in $13 million to rescue Scanlon and four other sites. You know if Snider were involved, it would be done right and it was. It's a good facility for these kids.
You can read more at CSNPhilly.com: