Archive - Feb 2011
February 3rd
“Fire and Ice”
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 02/03/2011 - 08:35Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
The words of Robert Frost come to mind this morning as I sit down to confront my day. Yesterday, I had parked at the end of my driveway, and although the storm was raging, I managed to safely drive to work. The roads weren’t that bad and there were very few people on the road. When I got to the office, there were very few people there as well.
At ten, I had a conference call and was on the phone for the next hour or so. During the call, I started getting emails, about a roof falling in. A building about a block and a half away from where I was working collapsed under the weight of the ice. I stopped by and spoke with the only other person that had made it into the top two floors of the building I worked in. He said that he felt our building shake about that time and wondered what was going on. I had missed that. I guess I was too engrossed in my conference call.
Soon the road was blocked off and there were all kinds of vehicles dealing with the collapse. Surrounding buildings were evacuated and the cleanup began.
I had to take a detour on my way home, circumventing the area around the collapse, but the drive home was uneventful. My wife had called and talked about how icy everything was and wondering if I would even be able to walk up our driveway.
The entrance to our driveway is fairly wide as it lets out onto a state highway. When the driveway has been bad, I’ve parked at the end of the driveway in order to be able to get in and out easily. Beyond the wide entrance, there is a section of steep hill. This part is shared by four houses. It is often icy and difficult to traverse. I had thought that this is what Kim was concerned about. Yet when I got into our driveway, I saw that the hill was mostly dry pavement and I drove up the hill without a problem.
At the top of the hill, our driveway turns off to the right. It was still snow covered, but the snow didn’t look very deep except for one little pile that I managed to get past. What I didn’t realize, until I tried to turn around, was that although it was shallow, it was almost nothing but ice. So, now my car is safely in the driveway with no way of backing out.
We’ve been trying to get in touch with our landlord as well as the plow guys in hopes that we can get our driveway properly plowed out so that Kim and I will be able to get out of the driveway. Until then, Kim and I have no way to get to our offices.
Fortunately, Fiona spent the storm and her grandparents house. We have a delayed opening for school, and they should be able to get her to school.
Meanwhile, I’ve been reading various reports of other buildings that have collapsed under the weight of the ice. There have been quite a few in Connecticut.
To return to the words of Robert Frost,
...for destruction ice
Is also great
Be safe, everyone.
February 2nd
Wordless Wednesday
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 11:57
February 1st
Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 02/01/2011 - 06:54A new month starts. Another snow storm rolls in. Tomorrow is Groundhog’s day. If he sees his shadow,it means six more weeks of winter. What does it mean if he can’t dig his way out of his tunnel? Thursday is the lunar new year. The year of the rabbit. Will this year be a better year, particularly as we invoke the rabbit in the childhood wish for luck at the beginning of each month? Friday is National Wear Red Day, to fight heart disease in women.
Besides the hearts damaged by disease, there are also hearts weary from the weather. As I think about the coming month and the record setting snow we had in January, I remember the great song, February, by Dar Williams:
First we forgot where we’d planted those bulbs last year,
Then we forgot that we’d planted at all,
Then we forgot what plants are altogether,
and I blamed you for my freezing and forgetting and
The nights were long and cold and scary,
Can we live through February?
...
And then the snow,
And then the snow came, we were always out shoveling,
And wed drop to sleep exhausted,
Then wed wake up, and its snowing.
It is a beautiful song, not only about the cold weather, but the cold that can seep into relationships. Later in the song, as a thaw comes, both literally and figuratively, and they see an early flower of spring.
You stopped and pointed and you said, "That’s a crocus,"
And I said, "What’s a crocus?" and you said, "It’s a flower,"
I tried to remember, but I said, "What’s a flower?"
You said, "I still love you."
I don’t know if the groundhog will see his shadow tomorrow. I don’t know if we will have six more weeks of winter. I’m not even sure how I will make it through six more weeks of winter. But I do know that there is beauty waiting to break forth once winter loosens its icy grip, and if we remember to tell our loved ones that we love them, the image of the long awaited first crocus can sustain us.
