THIN ICE

Author: Bruce McCall
Publisher: Alfred
Publication Date: 2001-01-01
Features: Hisskatesweretoosmall. Or they didn't match. Or they werethatultimatehumiliationforaboytryingtoplayhockey--girls'whitefigureskates. Add to young Bruce McCall's shabby equipment his pencil-thinwrists, weakankles, and, as he puts it, 'afruitbat'smetabolismwithatreesloth'sreflexes,' and you'll understand why he failedsodismallyinthecold,roughworldofneighborhoodhockeyinToronto. Bruce'scatastrophiccareerasarinkratepitomizestheyouthherecountsinthisfunny,moving,sometimesdisturbingmemoir. In fact, ThinIceexaminesaboyhoodsofilledwithfailureanddisappointmentthatthecomedyandinsightitsauthor/survivorwrestsfromit--likehissubsequentcareerasoneofAmerica'smostadmiredhumoristsandillustrators--seemlikemiracles. BruceMcCall'sfather,T.C.,wasaninaccessibletyrant. Bruce'smother,Peg,dranktoblunttheeffectofherhusband'sragesandtododgethedutiesoftakingcareofsixchildren. Still, Brucedidknowsomemomentsofpleasureasachild,especiallyinthesmalltownofSimcoe,beforeT.C.movedhisfamilytothedrearyoutskirtsofToronto: TheSecondWorldWaroffereditsawesomematérielanditsheroicmen,milkbottlesgrewtophatsofcream,andgrapeshungfreeforthestealinginMrs.Klein'sbackyard. But his parents'demonstook theirot tollon Bruce, and the moveto Torontosetthestageforacademicandsocialdisasters: Heflunked out of high school and took dead-end graphic-design jobs, all the while envying the full-color culture and high-octane energy of Canada's muscularneighbortothesouth. That envy, combined with Bruce's passion for reading and drawing--one of the few positive bequests from T.C. and Peg McCall--became his refuge and then his salvation. His precociousreverence for TheNewYorkermagazineledhimtoinvententirecomicworldsofartisticandliterarycreation. Ultimately, heread, wrote, and drewhimselfoutofpennilessnessanddespair. BruceMcCallmaynothavebeendestinedtoglidearoundMadisonSquareGardenholdingtheStanleyCupaloft, but as ThinIcedemonstrates, perseverance and talent can turn crummy iceskates--and evendashedhopes--intodreamscometrue.