My Thoughts On... (Part 2)

Well, that first one went well, didn't it? Try another..

Snow

I love the effect it has on people. It never ceased to amaze me at school that as soon as it started to snow at the beginning of the Canadian winter, everyone, even the Canadian kids who presumably bathed in snow when they were younger, would stare outside in subdued amazement at the wondrous invasion appearing from the sky. In the UK, a snowday would occur if someone even mentioned the subject on television. The mere prospect of a flake was enough to force people to stock up on canned goods and hunker down for the long haul. That was before this year of course when the weather Gods decided to pull the old switcheroo. Canada, at least here in the Toronto region, has received barely any snow this year and my friends back in Manchester have been sending me Morse code messages from beneath mountains of the icy white stuff (snow).

In a way I'm sort of delighted, if a little terrified by this turn of events. Some might see this as a sign of the forthcoming weather apocalypse Al Gore has been proselytizing. I, however see this as an absent message from above saying "Rob, if that is your real name, you've done too much shoveling these past few years. Take a break. Watch The Office."

I've also enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather because of the complete lack of ice on the ground. If there is a patch of ice somewhere on the sidewalk, i will find it. I could be used as an ice detector for the elderly as they make their journey to the bingo hall. After the detection you can usually find me flipped, feet flying through the air attempting a midair calculation to figure out the softest part of my body to land upon. I hate ice, yet quite enjoy snow. The combination of snow and ice is the great winter-time paradox. While you're enjoying the moment, naively gazing at the wonderful world around you, you're unknowingly one misstep away from being left on your backside in tears. (Speaking of which, please join me in three days for my Valentines Day post. I'm sure it'll be quite uplifting.)

Without snow, we wouldn't have the children's animated feature The Snowman (1982) which practically all my great Christmas memories are founded upon. No matter how much I try and hate it for the ice and freezing temperatures it comes pre-packaged with, snow will always have the innate ability to make everything seem better, if only for a retrospective moment. Where's my shovel?