Back in high school, I remember liking this cute little red-headed girl named Peggy. She had kind of an Ally Sheedy meets Molly Ringwald thing going on, which was very attractive back in the mid-'80s. When she accepted my nervous offering of a date, there was only one thing left to do; figure out what the heck we would do for our big night out. Being a poor high school kid, I had to devise an evening that would fulfill three important criteria; it had to be fun, it had to be inexpensive and it had to allow for some sort of physical contact. Hey, I was a testosterone-filled teenage after all. My solution was the H-F Ice Arena.

Back then, I couldn't think of a better place to bring a girl for a first date. The way I envisioned it, we'd go there on a night when they offered open skating. I'd help her lace up her skates as she beamed with excitement, chatting about what a fun idea it was to go skating. We'd get out onto the rink and spend the evening gliding across the ice, holding hands and laughing all the way. Afterward, we'd get some hot chocolate, she 'd gush at what a great time she had and the evening would end with a good night kiss hot enough to melt all the ice.

Sadly though, Peggy totally blew me off and my dream of the perfect date at the ice arena never came to fruition. This was probably for the best since the reality of it is I can barely walk across a room without falling down, let alone trying to impress a girl with ice skating. With my luck I would have done a face plant into the ice, knocking out both front teeth.

Still, the mystique of the H-F Ice Arena has lived on in me throughout the years. This Saturday, it's having an open house to show off recent renovations it has undergone. There will be with free skating, skate rental, lessons, refreshments and an opportunity to name the rink's new Zamboni machine. People who come out will also get the chance to meet the new hockey coordinator. When I think hockey players, I have the stereotypical image in my head of large guys with no front teeth. Needless to say I was quite surprised when I found out that the new person in charge of hockey was an attractive young woman by the name of Brit Terry.

Terry, a self-described "rink-rat" recently moved from Orono, Minn., to bring her zest for hockey to the south suburbs. "In Minnesota, hockey was life," Terry told me. She described how playing hockey outside in the cold Minnesota winters since she was 4 years old solidified her love of the game.

Listening to her passion for hockey and how naturally it comes for her made me want to sign up for one of her upcoming lessons. That is until I remembered that whole lack of balance issue I have.

Meet Terry and see all the changes at the H-F Ice Arena, 777 Kedzie Ave. in Flossmoor, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Call (708) 957-0100 for complete details.

The opinions are solely those of the writer. Bob Birgel lives in Northwest Indiana and works for Homewood-Flossmoor Park District. He can be reached at bbirgel@gmail.com.