Ice Man Cometh...sort of

I had intended to post this on Monday - but somehow, I forgot I'd written it! Go figure! ~JMS ********************* Snow falling, frost glittering, ice sparkling - these are the things I love about winter. Even though disobeying weather patterns, stubborn cars, and a plethora of other things can ruin the entire winter experience if you let them. I have to remind myself to take a minute to appreciate the beauty of things as they are, not as I would have them be. It snowed yesterday. The first snow of the season, as far as I know. I wanted those flakes of white powder to drift gently down, to alight upon each blade of grass, each newly-naked tree branch, each rooftop. I wanted the snow to stick fast and grow deep and glisten in the sun once the clouds parted. But it was not to be. Yesterday morning, I and my family were awakened by the wind howling furiously against the house; knocking around the Christmas wreaths so carefully placed on each window until I thought they were sure to fall off. The 4-foot, plastic, light-up Santa Claus was still plugged in, but rolling around on its side. The trees were whipped to and fro, making it a minor miracle that nothing broke or came crashing down. The falling snow didn't eddy in a soft breeze, it came down fast and hard like it wanted to be sleet but wasn't. Even though it snowed almost all day, eventually tapering off to a light flurry after the wind abated, there was almost nothing to show for it and I was sadly disappointed. This morning, before the sun came up, I stepped outside and noticed how the street-lights, which cast a weak yellow glow over the early day, made the frost on my little red front porch sparkle like silver glitter. I carefully walked across the street to my cold and frosty Ford Taurus and gave it a reassuring pat to let it know that it would be warm shortly. As I opened the door, I realized it is just as cold inside as it is outside and began to lament the fact that my poor old Taurus doesn't have any heat. It doesn't matter how long the engine runs, the frost will never go away without help. So I dug the scraper out from the floor of the passenger side, said a quick prayer that my fingers would not go numb, and set myself about the task of scraping frost from the windows. Five minutes later, I am seated inside the still-frosty interior of my car, brushing snow-dust from my scarf. I have a little heater "thing" my thoughtful husband purchased for me. It plugs into the cigarette lighter and is supposed to provide a modicum of warmth. The thing is...it doesn't. It blows air that feels like it wants to be warm, but cannot quite get there. Plus, it is noisy so I very rarely use it. This morning, however, I was desperate to de-fog my windows and thought I would put this heater to the ultimate test. So I plugged it in, turned it on, and aimed carefully at a spot right at the center of my vision through the windshield. In seconds, there was a small, round clear spot through which I could see a portion of the old Cadillac parked in front of me. I moved the heater slowly across the windshield until it was clear enough for me to see without having any blind spots. Then, I drove carefully to work along the darkened streets. ********************* I guess I didn't exactly finish it, either - but now I don't know what else to do with it...so it is going to stay just like that. TTFN JMS