Monday, December 13, 2004
Today was the first day of winter. It always arrives one morning between Thanksgiving & the solstice. Up to now the season was Fall with a hangover, a bit of leftover color on a dingy gray background. We've had a few chilly nights & frosts, but not winter. Today I felt it before I went outside. & when I stepped out at noon I did what I always do on a fair winter day: pulled a knit hat over my ears, put on my sunglasses, & wiggled my hands into a pair of "magic" stretch gloves. The temperature may have been pushing forty degrees but there was a cold breeze from the west & the sun had about as much heat as a Bic lighter with only fumes left in it. Some years we've had a substantial snowfall or a deep freeze by December 13. Other years there's only chilly Mediterranean rain & dampness; But eventually the bottom drops out.
As a kid, I enjoyed all the seasons; the year was divided into "school" or "No School" periods & only the latter was worthy of further subdivision. Of course, I hoped for snow. But sometime around my late twenties I began to detest everything about winter; the cold, the snow, the short daylight, the lack of plants growing & animals making noises. I felt lonely during the winter & this sadness always began shortly after my birthday in November when the last cricket - always residing in a shadow near a sunny place like a parking lot - stopped chirping & dug itself in to snooze until the early summer sun stirred it into song again. There's a name for it now, Seasonal Affective Disorder, although that could just be a way to sell medications. & I hated winter for over two decades; my animosity toward the season aggravated by cranky old cars that didn't like winter either & that became especially unreliable at times one needed to rely on them most. In any case, winter took away my favorite outdoor places. Somehow I could manage the spells of hot, muggy summer weather no matter what shape I or my car was in.
One year my car broke down - electrical problem of course - & I left it parked in the street & while I was recuperating from eye surgery at my sister's there was a heavy snowfall & the city towed it away & I decided I didn't want it back because the car was also going to need tires & an exhaust system & brakes & inspection & I couldn't take care of a machine that was more sickly & depressed than I was at the time.
A couple of years ago I began to realize I no longer hated winter as vehemently or loved summer as passionately. I still disliked the long shadows & pale sun of January & February yet I rather enjoyed the dry cold air & the peacefulness of snowy nights. I still loved the balmy late sunsets of July & August but the thick afternoon air weighed more heavily on me & the occasional evening thunderstorms of which I was once a meteorological connoisseur turned into annoyances that kept me from getting out & about on a bicycle. & while if there's no snow in the way I'll bundle up & ride a bike to the grocery store on all but the most frigid days, I never go pedaling through humid 90 degree heat.
I don't know if this change in my seasonal attitude is permanent or temporary; if it has to do with age or wisdom or gradual adaptation. But it suits me right now, & I am glad winter is here. & that's about 600 words, a substantial newspaper column before editing.
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"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
As a kid, I enjoyed all the seasons; the year was divided into "school" or "No School" periods & only the latter was worthy of further subdivision. Of course, I hoped for snow. But sometime around my late twenties I began to detest everything about winter; the cold, the snow, the short daylight, the lack of plants growing & animals making noises. I felt lonely during the winter & this sadness always began shortly after my birthday in November when the last cricket - always residing in a shadow near a sunny place like a parking lot - stopped chirping & dug itself in to snooze until the early summer sun stirred it into song again. There's a name for it now, Seasonal Affective Disorder, although that could just be a way to sell medications. & I hated winter for over two decades; my animosity toward the season aggravated by cranky old cars that didn't like winter either & that became especially unreliable at times one needed to rely on them most. In any case, winter took away my favorite outdoor places. Somehow I could manage the spells of hot, muggy summer weather no matter what shape I or my car was in.
One year my car broke down - electrical problem of course - & I left it parked in the street & while I was recuperating from eye surgery at my sister's there was a heavy snowfall & the city towed it away & I decided I didn't want it back because the car was also going to need tires & an exhaust system & brakes & inspection & I couldn't take care of a machine that was more sickly & depressed than I was at the time.
A couple of years ago I began to realize I no longer hated winter as vehemently or loved summer as passionately. I still disliked the long shadows & pale sun of January & February yet I rather enjoyed the dry cold air & the peacefulness of snowy nights. I still loved the balmy late sunsets of July & August but the thick afternoon air weighed more heavily on me & the occasional evening thunderstorms of which I was once a meteorological connoisseur turned into annoyances that kept me from getting out & about on a bicycle. & while if there's no snow in the way I'll bundle up & ride a bike to the grocery store on all but the most frigid days, I never go pedaling through humid 90 degree heat.
I don't know if this change in my seasonal attitude is permanent or temporary; if it has to do with age or wisdom or gradual adaptation. But it suits me right now, & I am glad winter is here. & that's about 600 words, a substantial newspaper column before editing.
Add YOUR comments here
