Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
NOVEMBER 14, 2021 – Snow fell overnight and stuck. It was a warm-up (“cool-down”?) for what lies ahead. I used to feel excited and frustrated with the first snow—excited by the approaching ski season; frustrated that the first dusting of snow wouldn’t be skiable. In my (halcyon) dinosaur days, winter couldn’t last long enough. With …
MARCH 9, 2021 – On today’s local news the youthful forecaster cheerfully promised bright sunshine and record high temperatures. Mercury’s already flying high—well above 40. My main concern is . . . over the past 24 hours, how much snow has disappeared from my remaining run in nearby “Little Switzerland”? Yesterday, before the sun got …
FEBRUARY 18, 2021 – Last Monday I wiped out on skis. The issue was “boilerplate,” as my uncle used to call a patch of glare ice on a ski slope. Plus, I was on x-c skis—without sharp, metal, defensive edges. It was my first fall of the season—63 days, so far. As my left hip …
FEBRUARY 7, 2021 – It happened once when I was in college—so much snow fell, my skiing buddies and I couldn’t get to the ski area where we’d planned to play hooky. This was doubly ironic given that our school mascot was a polar bear. Yesterday, I faced another winter irony—air too cold for skiing. …
JANUARY 27, 2021 – Yesterday was crowded with work-related demands, routines of daily existence, and more “breaking news.” I couldn’t enjoy the sun-filled outdoors until it was no longer sun-filled. Not until 9:30 in the evening did I grab skis and escape. In the dark, the “banana-peel” ice on alley and sidewalks was too treacherous …
JANUARY 3, 2021 – An essential trait for survival is adaptability. At the bank where I worked years ago, we were told, “Adapt or die.” I wasn’t sure if that was a dictate or an observation, but either way, I figured the outcome would be the same. I tried to adapt. I quit thinking like …
DECEMBER 24, 2020 – Yesterday while I was workin’ away . . . at work . . . my cell phone rang, and up popped an 800-number. I suspected a robo-marketing call but answered anyway. It was a robo call but not a solicitation. It was from Eversource, the power company serving our family quarters …