Monday, February 28, 2005

the snow....

as much as i complain about the shovelling and stomping and comuting and driving and parking and riding and sliding in snow, i couldnt live without at least one snow storm a year.
This years perfect storm came on thursday. It was bitter cold and i walked the brooklyn bridge to get to school. I have never walked the bridge in cold windy weather where the temperature sign you can see from the bridge read 27 degrees. i have walked the bridge in summer, on a night when the sunset over manhattan and in spring with the melting of the snow and buds blooming and the fall.. with the crispness of an autumn night. But never in winter.. so i braved the cold and headed towards the bridge. My face burned with the wind but manhattan was covered in grey... snow was expected... the cold continues.. whipping around my head, burning my sinus and nasal cavities and making it hard to breath( the knapsack of school stuff didnt help)
when i reached the other side, i had succeeded and walked up to starbucks to reorganize..
off to chinatown and school... as i entered the school, it started to snow..

while students whines of being let go, i admired the falling flakes as they asked me to release them and as i taught on... more "can we go" more teaching and the holland tunnel was clear, the roads were clear... no chairs or plows.. SChool was called at 720 and we were on our way... I stopped to talk to an ex student and headed down to the train.. CANAL street was empty and i spoke to a student who had an 8pm that was cancelled, she wondered if the trains would be packed.. I didnt care.. I let her walk on.. and walked in the quiet of canal street... where there are usually cars and trucks and street sellers and cops... that night it was white and silent and just a few lights shone.. very few cars and me walking on in the night..

i got on the train to my stop and got off and the same.. it was quiet.. Newkirk ave with its hip hop and spanish and cat calling kids and cars, was still.. not a peep.. but the street lights shone with snow falling.. i walked to the avenue and there were two cars not the 12 i expected... and up my block.. no one was stirring.. the street was empty and silent.. and all mine..
i revelled in the snow falling and entered my apartment to warm up and looked out the window to admire the falling snow..

I got up in the middle of the night, and looked out the window to see the white world all asleep but the street light let me know it was still snowing

friday morning, i cleaned off the car and took my usual route..through the park.. no one was behind me, just one car speeding ahead so i slowed down to 15 miles and hour and toured the park.. the lake with ducks- the snow covered path, teh few runners or walkers... but mostly to see the scenery that looking like a postcard... i slowed down and admired the view til the cars who thought they were late all raced by me.. they raced and missed the beauty of the snowstorm...
it was not a burden last week... but i found the joy in the 4-6 inches that were a gift


i walked in the snow tonight, my usual 4 mile walk while the snow fell, warm at first and then whipping around my head, all drenching my hair and running my mascara.. when it started to get cold.. i came home ... its still snowing as i write and i can see the cars and street becoming that blanket again