Friday, January 16, 2009

Snow Down


Let's talk about snow. I love it for many reasons. For me, it's all or nothing. Give me a blizzard. I like to shovel it. Yes, especially when it's newly packed, untrodden, smooth. As I scoop it up and toss it, I'm reminded of white icing on a stacked wedding cake, so pure and sweet. Snow is delicious.

Am I on a diet? No. I was just shoveling a path to my mailbox today and thinking how snow makes the landscape look so much more beautiful in the winter. Sticking to the frames of houses and naked trees, it illuminates the lines of every structure and plant. It covers the spots in my fence that need repair, the leaves I never raked, the barren garden. A real snowstorm is the only one worth while. It has the power to force life to a halt. Snow is a trillion white sticky notes falling from the sky on which God has written,
"Slow Down!"
I was born in a snow storm. When I was under the age of ten I remember high piles of new fallen snow in my yard. So much white that the road disappeared and my father would walk us down to the the hill near Robert Moses Causeway. We'd stamp down the street in boots and layered clothes pulling red plastic sleds. The sounds were muffled, and suburbia transformed into a magical white crystal forest.

Back home I'd lay my gloves and hat on the radiator and then sit on top of the pile. There's nothing like a seat of old-fashioned hot pipes. My feet were thawed, my cheeks ruddy from the cold. The only logical thing to do next was watch television and eat popcorn. Life is good.

3 comments:

Bonnie Way aka the Koala Mom said...

Beautiful! And I agree totally. I've been wanting to comment on the snow we've got here (last time it snowed I'm sure we got at least a foot), but haven't managed to be this lyrical about it yet. :) BTW, I posted some fiction over at my blog today, and would love your thoughts on it...

Elizabeth Kathryn Gerold-Miller said...

My daughter was born during a snowstorm. There is something so magical about that. She is my magical child and I think that is part of the reason why.

Loren said...

If I were magical, Elizabeth, I'd be able to wiggle my nose and instantly complete the laundry.

Dear Internet Traveler,

Welcome to my writer's blog, started about six years ago for fun. Over time, the writing I have posted has ranged from personal reflection, to Long Island history research, to tall tales for my own amusement, to feature articles for local newspapers. As you can see from topics listed here, I travel in many mental directions in regard to interests. Click on the tabs and labels to explore my strange mind which senses that you may be having a criss-cross day. If so, perhaps this blog will distract you. However, please note that if you tell me my blog is beautiful just to get me to advertise rhinoplasty surgery and cheap drugs from Canada in your comment, I will ask the gods to give you a tail that cannot be concealed.

Fondly,

Loren Christie

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