Oh, man, I loved that sled. A seat so you could sit up straight on it, a steering wheel and a handbrake and you were all set. The fact that for awhile, you could with only slight discomfort sling it over your back like a backpack was a bonus.

I’m standing in front of our house, in the winter of 1985. That was a momentous year thanks to our trip to Europe, but I didn’t have any decent photos at hand, so this one, with the first of dad’s two mid-’80s Sciroccos visible in the background, will have to do.