It’s not even the middle of February yet but I declare this is the longest winter I can remember! Seems like it started around the middle of November, when we had our first snow of the season and there hasn’t been a lot of respite since then. We’ve had days on end of cold fog and more days of not seeing the sun rolled up one on top of the other. If pressed on the matter, I’d have to admit I haven’t been popping my gingko biloba and my senility has not yet reached the point of qualifying for other chemical improvements to recall. So, it could just be another case of suppressed memories that keep the ghost of winters past from blasting my remembering with scenes of longer, darker, colder months.

Whatever the case, this current winter has certainly been cold and long and gray. That’s what made Wednesday such a wonderful day. Even with the wind chill down in single digits throughout most of the daylight hours, a bright sun made it seem much warmer. Funny how the sight of bright blue skies can help chase the blues away. It was just delightful for those of us grown rather weary of this radical distraction from the Global Warming doctrine.

It is not such a rare thing in this world that an Arctic indifference bruises with its numbing grip. If a single day of sunshine can be such a welcome thing and bring such a fine change to hearts and spirits, consider how refreshing kind words and thoughtful actions must be to those lives lost in winter’s long shadow.

H. Arnett
2/12/10