Frozen

     

STAINED GLASS: Looking out my front door

I never have to worry about writer’s block while living in New England. People love talking about the weather in our little neck of the global woods. And this winter there’s so much to talk about.

     January 2015 was cold, but that's to be expected. Nothing unusual happened on the weather front other than we almost made it through the entire month without any significant snowfall. At the end of the month, the snow finally arrived. Boy did it ever. And now there is no end in sight.

     The January 27th blizzard dumped around 25 inches of snow on Stoneham. At work, I was already on the schedule for vacation days on Monday and Tuesday. My timing couldn't have been better. With the state-of-emergency travel ban in place, I wasn’t going anywhere anyway. Like everyone else that day, I spent most of my free time shoveling and clearing snow. It was hard work but by Wednesday life was more or less back to normal. Okay, less. But somehow we survived.

     One week later, another storm struck and another foot of snow blanketed our area. When added to the previous accumulation, the amount was staggering. I took a rare spontaneous vacation day to enjoy more shovel-time with my wife. I wish I could say we had fun. Not even close. The pressure may have been dropping in the atmosphere but it was skyrocketing in my driveway. Just ask the neighbors.

     Snow removal is an enormously difficult challenge, for homeowners as well as the DPW. Driving through town feels like training for an olympic luge event. Nosing my car out of a corner side street is a complete game of chance. I call it Extreme Whack-A-Mole. The record breaking, back breaking snowfall has taken its toll on everyone. People are exhausted before they arrive at work. Everyone looks strung out and defeated. At least the Patriot’s Super Bowl victory gave us something positive to focus on for a few moments.

     I just heard the extended forecast and there's more snow coming. It is winter, so I’m not surprised. I have a few choice words for Mother Nature 2015, besides “relentless” and “vicious”, but I’ll keep them to myself so as not to disturb the weather gods. I don't want to make them any more angry than they already are. I’ve gotten used to trudging through the snowdrifts, tiptoeing on black ice, and layering my clothes to combat the arctic wind chill. Hearty New Englander? More like Apocalypse Survivor. That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, so call me Superman. Maybe that’s just my white-out delirium talking.

     Winter 2015 continues to stomp its way toward the ever elusive spring season. Spring is under a lot of pressure this year to be extra-spectacular – or else. For now, I'm living in the moment. I’m happy my home has a full tank of heating oil, some Duraflame logs, and electricity to make the harsh winter days and nights comfortable (or at least bearable). Give me a hot cup of tea and a computer keyboard and I’m a happy camper. The temperature may be sub-zero outside, but it's warm inside sitting by the glow of my laptop fueled by the fire of my imagination.