Snow Day

Schools were closed today in anticipation of a big winter weather emergency. I awoke to only a few inches of snow, but the radio promised that a "wintry mix" would arrive later in the day. I spent the morning working at home, and by noon the College announced it was cancelling all afternoon and evening classes, and sending employees home. Liam and I had lunch and then took a walk out to the reservoir. The snow had turned to a very intermittent sleet, and left a crunchy crust on top of this mornings' powder. We took a shortcut through some backyards and made our way down to Shadyside drive, where this bull was occupying his usual spot. He spends his days exposed to the elements, across the road from the barn, where his girlfriends enjoyed the comforts of shelter. But snow, sleet and rain don't seem to phase this bull much. Nor did my camera's flash. I can't figure out if that stony expression indicates that he's bored, indifferent, or mad.

Just as we arrived at the reservoir, the intermittent sleet turned to steady rain. Then one of the ice fishermen I had met the other day showed up to try his luck. He had recently been laid off work, he explained, and would rather be out here, even in this weather, then home watching Judge Judy on TV. Liam was curious to see how ice fishing worked, so we followed him out on the ice to watch him set up. He dragged a small sled. A ten gallon bucket held most of his gear and also served as his seat. After drilling a few holes and scooping out the slush, he pulled out his fish finder device, a tin of maggots he used for bait, and a small pole with fine filament line. As soon as he dropped the sensor into the hole, the screen showed two lines, one of which, he told us, was a fish. We all stared at the screen while he bobbed the line up and down, trying to get the digital fish to bite. Not much luck. He generously explained to Liam what was on the screen. It just looked like lines to me, and I couldn't make any sense of it. When I asked Liam later if he could understand how to read the scream, he looked at me as if I were an idiot and said "Of course. It's pretty simple, Dad."

The ice fisherman had on a Gore-Tex suit, while Liam and I were in gear much less waterproof. We were soon thoroughly drenched, and had a significant walk back to town. I called an end to the party, wished the fisherman luck, and we headed back into town. On the walk back I was envying that Gore-Tex suit. I bet Thoreau would have loved Gore-Tex. The roads were getting worse by the minute. I would have been hesitant to take my All Wheel Drive Subaru down it. But that didn't stop the UPS driver from coming down the road to deliver a package. I can't think of too many vehicles more ill-suited for these kinds of conditions and this kind of country road than those big brown boxes. Those UPS drivers are crazy. I know, because my brother is one.

By the time we got back to town, we were drenched. Village trucks with snow plows were busy heaving brown slush out of the road and onto the banks of snow that had been bride white just a few hours ago. We retreated to the Jitterbug coffee shop to warm up. All the regulars were there--Philosophy and Religion professors and students. We caught up on the news and learned that plans are in the works for a Pac Man tournament on the vintage Pac Man machine that the coffee shop acquired a few months ago. That could be the event of the month here!

After finishing up our hot drinks and getting back into our still soaking wet coats, we headed home, making a quick stop at the public library, where I checked out a couple of CDs: Norah Jones, Modest Mouse, Coldplay, and Springsteen's Seeger sessions. I think we're in for the rest of the evening. And maybe tomorrow, too.