the bundled, the snow, and the street

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1/7/22 | 51/52
I hope you got to celebrate and count down and raise a glass to say goodbye to 2021. The new year brought winter along with it. When you step outside be careful on the ice and try your hardest to make the most of this beautiful day.

cold blooded

accumulation

I ended the year folding my ankle while skating at Wilson. It was a few days before the snow came so I was thankful to have gotten outside but I was also looking for a couple days off to heal up. Now the snow is here and it looks like it will be sticking around for the foreseeable future. It feels like the kind of snow that will linger in spots and parking lot piles until spring. I like the first snow fall but after that I’m done with it which is strange because I used to love it so much.

Snow is for kids to play in wearing snowsuits and moon boots. Snowball fights and snowman rolling and of course sledding. We would go sled on the biggest hill we could walk to. It was a small gentle slope but we would run and launch ourselves down, obligingly walk back to the top excited to do it all over again until our cheeks were stinging and our scarves sagged, heavy and wet from snow. When we grew older we tried to snowboard using old decks. It never worked particularly well. The victory was getting it to slide a little before sinking down to a stop. Over the years I’ve visited larger hills with steeper inclines and bounced down them atop inflated truck innertubes. I’ve skitched behind cars on icy roads. I’ve tied ropes to neighbor’s snowmobiles to pull red plastic sleds and tumbled off when the driver took a turn too sharply. I used to search for snow in the forecast and listen to the radio for the list of school closings. I was a winter fun enthusiast.

In 2011 we were driving home on Lake Shore Drive when heavy accumulation and a stalled city bus led to total gridlock. We waited and worried in our car, happy the wind was blocked, occasionally powering down to save gas. Eventually a firefighter knocked on the window and motioned for us to follow to a firetruck. From there we shuffled to a bus who eventually took us south into the city. At some point the driver asked where we wanted to go and the red line was deemed a reliable destination. We rode trains and walked down the middle of empty streets and shared pleasantries with people trying to dig out. It seemed like the city shut down for a week but it was only a day or two. Our car, along with the rest of abandoned vehicles, were towed to allow LSD to be plowed and reopened. They couldn’t tell us exactly where our car was but gave us a couple locations. By some stroke of luck we found it at the first place we tried, the Wilson Skatepark parking lot. I wasn’t mad at the snow or the city or any part of it. I was happy that we went through it together.

Last week was our little dog's first experience with snow. She loves leaping and bounding and rolling around in it. If we get too much snow I think she might be out of her depth, her short legs too small to keep her head above the accumulation. Seeing her enthusiasm and big eyes have made me more excited about being outside and crunching around. Which leads me to end with some important questions: Do dogs like to sled? Not pulling the sled but going downhill. Can I take my dog sledding? Should I? If you have information or experience please let me know. I think this might bring back my winter storm love.

Friend of the Week

There’s a new documentary on HBO about the creation of the Children’s Television Workshop and Sesame Street and I cannot recommend it enough. I will add a warning that it was a little jarring seeing the Muppets I grew up with being puppets. Look I know they're puppets but there’s something upsetting about seeing behind the curtain. I grew accepting them for who they were. On the other hand I think it’s great that these amazing artists and educators and actors and geniuses get a little recognition for all the incredible work they did and continue to do. There’s tons of old clips which I loved watching. Did you know the Pointer Sisters sing the “12345….678910…..1112,” pinball song? I found myself humming songs from the film days later. 12/10! Time well spent!

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Solid,
Tim