Was Curious George playing in it? Didn't Burt and Ernie go skiing? Larry and Balki did.
"There...if you look closely, you can see it on top of the mountain. See there? And those dark shapes there? Those are elk or moose. Yes, like Bullwinkle. No, it's too hot back home."
"No, this is sleet."
"No, I'm telling you, it was a flurry! I swear!" I didn't believe her. Plus, I was too worried about those high school exams to care.
"I never want to see the stuff. Grew up in Florida and I'm going to Arizona State for college and then on to Hollywood."
1997 I arrive in Chicago, much different than Tempe.
He was blowing leaves as the cold wind gusted down Kenmore. He smiled at me with his toothy, wicked grin. "Here it comes, boy!" A wave of fear and nausea rushed through me, starting at the mouth and exiting out of my ass.
Again on Kenmore. "What is this? Is someone burning something? Is this ash? Wait...is this? Is this it? Wow!" I stood at the window in the lobby and stared at it like a fool, gaping in amazement. The others rolled their eyes and lamented the end of autumn and the beginning of a long Chicago winter. I doubt anyone thought I was adorable.
He laughed and pushed her in the yellow patches as she screamed. In the summer, he would push her in the grass and she only giggled until he reminded her of winter's yellow. "It's still there, you know."
She loved it, would kick a chunk of it and stomp it to oblivion. That's how I knew I was in love with her.
She hated it and asked, "what is this? I mean, I know what it is, but come on..." That's how I knew I was in love with her.
We made a corpse out of it in a baseball field in Grant Park. Later that day a beluga whale spit on me. I held her hand but didn't kiss her, like we were children. I was never in love with her.
I had to be there at five in the morning. I shoveled the doorway and a path to the intersection. Quitting felt so good.
I slipped and fell backwards. I just stayed on the ground, feeling it lightly fall on my face. It felt good to rest on the sidewalk like that. Eventually a woman walked by and said, "oh my! Are you alright?" I assured her I was, but I wasn't quite ready to move yet. "I thought you were a dog from back there."
"Hold my mitted fist!" She made me laugh when she said that. She moved so quickly in it. Later, when it was ending, she told me we moved at different speeds. I thought maybe she was referring to foot speed, but...no...probably not. It's ok. I was never in love with her.
It was the biggest blizzard in Chicago in years. I can't remember, but I most likely drank through it. I was alone, staring out of the window at it all, wishing it were worse. Or better, depending on your point of view.
They said it would be the winter that would make us all want to move. It was the most mild winter in years. You couldn't ever get me to move anyway.
I was feeling better than I had in possibly years. I loved the way the ice cracked under my feet. I loved how untouched it was. I loved the screaming geese and ducks that refused to leave Chicago in the winter...just like me. I found warmth in the conservatory and smiled, smiled, smiled...
I came home grinning like some goofball. I heard a bird chirping and asked her why in hell she was acting like it was spring. She didn't have an answer. I went upstairs and made dinner. I looked out of my window and watched it come down, as it had been coming down all day, with such endurance. I decided to write about my history with the stuff from as far back as I could remember. And while it feels like it has lost its value over the years, I also understand there are memories with it that have not yet been made. It will be valuable again, I'm sure.
Stay warm, stay dry, and thanks for reading. I'll talk to you later.
