"Time don't fly - it bounds and leaps"
One liner from John Prine and his tune called Storm Windows
We had a thaw in January this past week. Temperatures over the weekend hit the mid 60’s and finally melted away the eight or so inches of snow that had fallen about a week earlier.
I love the first snowfall of the season. The snow looks so pristine, pure, and untouched that it’s almost a shame to leave my footprints in it as I wander down to Ye Olde Tavern to scarf down a burger and a few beers and maybe catch a game or two on ESPN with some like minded friends. Depending on my alcohol consumption, the walk home might take a bit longer but ya know what? That’s ok too, I get to take notice of my surroundings.
And from what I’ve seen there’s been some weird kind of phenomena that’s been going on right under my very eyes over all these years. I don’t care whether it started in my roots growing up in Brooklyn, New York or my later years while living in my adopted hometown of Columbus, Ohio, there’s something about the snow that brings out the best in people. I don’t care whether it’s kids playing in it or elders having to shovel it, they seem to do so with a smile and a wave and maybe an errant snowball tossed your way as you make your way past them. People in the grocery stores seem friendlier than usual and go out of their way to help you when you can’t find something. The patrons at the bar seem to have more in common than usual and friendships and conversations seem to come easier. I know it sounds trite, but there seems to be more of a sense of community in the air. I don’t know why I ever noticed it before but I’m glad I finally did.
Maybe I’m just lucky.
I spoke with Anna on Saturday and got some good news. She’s so far been accepted at four colleges with varying degrees of scholarship money thrown in for good measure. All of them, even the ones we haven't heard back from, are a pretty good distance away from where she lives now and that was her choice. She wants to get out of Columbus and I can't say I blame her.
Let me clarify something here real quick. By "good distance", I mean not too close, not too far. Just enough for her to spread her wings and fly or return back to the nest if need be. Here’s the list to date:
Ohio University – six or seven grand
Bowling Green State University – six or seven grand
Belmont University – ditto
Duquesne University – fourteen grand
We’re still on the fence waiting to hear back from a couple of more but all in all I’d have to say that things are looking pretty good.
It’s now Tuesday, the snow I mentioned earlier is nothing but a memory and that’s ok. I hope I'm using the right words here but much like my kid I’d rather see it gone entirely than sit around looking gray and turning into piles of slush.
In my mind, I know they'll both come back someday and it makes me look forward to either of those events even more than I already do.