It snowed today, very lightly, I could see it through the window at Wolfgang's Restaurant. For some reason, whenever it snows, I'm instantly 10 years old again, & I'm excited for the prospect of school being cancelled, making snow forts, going sledding, having snowball fights, & playing football. Football was always better in the snow, because the speed of some & the weight of others in tackle football was neutralized by the ten layers of coats we had on & the 6 inches of snow on the ground (yes, mother, we played tackle football without helmets).
St John's parking lot was perhaps the best place to play in the snow as a result of the large snow piles made by the plow. We always had a good pile bordering our backyard & the parking lot but the best one was the one that bordered the back of the parking lot & Nieman Street. Many times we would have snowball fights where our yard was one team's station & the Nieman Street pile was the other teams. Epic battles occurred there.
Here's another Philip Larkin poem dedicated to the oncoming winter.
Continuing to Live
Continuing to live--that is, repeat
A habit formed to get necessaries --
Is nearly always losing, or going without.
It varies.
This loss of interest, hair, and enterprise --
Ah, if the game were poker, yes,
You might discard them, draw a full house!
But it's chess.
And once you have walked the length of your mind, what
You command is clear as a lading-list.
Anything else must not, for you, be thought
To exist.
And what's the profit? Only that, in time,
We half-identify the blind impress
All our behavings bear, may trace it home.
But to confess.
On that green evening when our death begins,
Just what it was, is hardly satisfying,
Since it applied only to one man once,
And that one dying.
Philip Larkin
I don't know what that has to do with winter, maybe I just like the poem. I felt old today, my back was hurting & my leg, when you move it a certain way, seems to give out. Ah well.
Five Favorite Songs of the Day
Lenny Bruce-Amherst, MA 11.15.06
This performance was not merely a rarity, but Bob sang it with an amazing conviction, like Lenny truly was the brother he never had.
Don't Feel Right-the Roots, Game Theory
Always See Your Face-Love, The Definitive Rock Collection
Stardust-Harry Connick, Jr, 25
Emily-Joanna Newsom, Ys
Happy Sunday evening, friends!
andrew
4 comments:
Thanks for transporting me back in time to winters past.
No helmets or padding--could that be the reason you're feeling old and feeling aches and pains today?
If you're old, what am I?
Yes it snowed here too yesterday, and Quinn desparately wanted to go out and play in the snow, even though we told him that it wasn't sticking. He insisted on donning his boots, hat, snowpants etc. and going out in the elements, even though those elements were mostly mud!
I think a good doctors visit may solve whats wrong with your leg :) (sorry I had to plug that one in there)
What's that I hear in the background? Oh yes, that's the sweet sound of Joanna Newsom! :)
Post a Comment