falling in love with winter again
Jan. 12, 2004
when i was a kid, i liked winter. i had a sled. a snowsuit and friends who went out in it, too.
there was a James and a Michael. i notice i always have Jims and Michaels around me.
everyone went out in it. we all got quite wet, falling off our sleds…
sliding every which way down the hill, off sleds and on sleds, ti didn’t matter. what mattered was to keep moving. Boston is cold in the winter, but Vermont is colder than that. last week, it was thirty below zero.
the hairs inside my nose froze, but it was okay.
winter is all right with me again. after a long time making ti wrong, its right with me.
i understand the need to kick back and get a perspective that is not up too close, and winter provides
that distance, to pull back and peer through the trees that dropped their leaves for that purpose,
the purpose of providing a view that shows everything.
in the winter, pulled back, backed off, a bit apart, one can see clearly the horizon.
where the mountains really start. how long the mountains really are. whats behind and under everything..
the animals track across the property all the time, but in the snow, trails are obvious. little footprints tell a big story.
you can follow them as long as you want to.
years ago, when i lived in the city, the only foot prints were made by peoples big boots.
its not much of a discovery to look at hundreds of footprints going all in the same directions.
they seem too predictable.
they meld into a big mess quite easily.
i think people require more space than they have in cities.
people need hills to look out from, to sled down. they need clear views to a horizon.
they need little footprints to follow.
living in the country is a cure
and a way to fall in love with winter again
