Sled

Here's a slice of Americana. 
A friend's back porch, that I pass each day, has this old sled propped against the wall. She tells me its been passed down through her family for generations and that her grandmother once rode it down snow covered hills in the area. It reminds me so much of the iconic Flexible Flyer sled invented in 1889 by Samuel Leeds Allen. He owned a farm equipment company out of Philadelphia, added the sled to his hardware line and hit it big. Lots of companies attempted to copy the steel-runner designed sled, including the made-in-Maine "Speedway". I had one passed down from my Uncle Leonard, and it was the biggest, and fastest on our neighborhood hills, whether I was flat on my belly or sitting up with my feet propped on the steering device with buddies sitting behind me. By the way, the Flyer, King of the Sleds, still lives today. It is manufactured by Paricon LLC out of South Paris, Maine. It's kind of ironic too, because my Mom's family, including my uncle lived, for many years, in South Paris.
I guess you could say; it's all downhill from here! 
Whoosh!