Plop. Plop, Fizz, Fizz……. Oh What a Relief it is:
“Don’t look for miracles. You are The Miracle” ………………………Henry Miller
“This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge. And unity is the way forward” ………………………………………………………………. Joe Biden
“Please don’t bury me, in this cold, cold ground……I’d rather that they cut me and pass me all around” …………………………………John Prine
Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz……. Oh What a Relief it is:
“Don’t look for miracles. You are The Miracle” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Henry Miller
“This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge. And unity is the way forward” ………………………………………………………………. Joe Biden
“Please don’t bury me, in this cold, cold ground……I’d rather that they cut me and pass me all around” …………………………………John Prine
Well….the mighty winter sun came out this morning….which makes ten degrees seem a bit more tolerable……Frankly, I surrender……May be way too old to fully experience my first Vermont winter…..not sure we have any global warming here (see I can have a mind melding with The Donald)….ten straight days of below 20 degrees….and astounding 2-4 inches of snow each day……a pile across the property of two feet regularly……..no grass or dirt in sight…..THIS is life in the Snowbelt of Vermont….Heard a guy this week talking about ice fishing on the radio…and he said you had to be careful since in some places the ice may not be frozen, due to it being a mild winter ……..IS HE SHITTING ME?????????……certainly not living in the mountains, the motley fool…plus, we were not expecting to spend the COVID winter when we came back this summer….so we have an assortment of layer gaps…..done ok, but then again….I’m feeling kinship with Eskimos……Now mind you, I am not complaining….well, then again……..Astonishing…….
NEWSFLASH……it snowed again last night………for the 47th straight day………We are blessed……
BIGGER NEWSFLASH……Nana and Papi expecting fourth granddaughter (gender only predicted/assumed) …. ….in August……Tess and Jake now catching up with Ry and Lauren on producing progeny……How cool is all that?
So what did we learn about our peeps this week?…………Uncle Joe has a sharp pen…………………Kamala has a staggering array of pants suits………Ol’ Mitch does not like being demoted…………Bernie seems to love mittens…… The Donald does not seem to know the NEW president’s name……Ivanka and Jared are fiercely protective of their toilet……you can apparently bring a concealed weapon to Congress, if you are elected………. Andrew decided it was a good idea to move upstate before declaring to run for Mayor……and The Queen has developed a new passion…laundry machines……………….
Had a zoom this week with all of my recently unearthed New York cousins……how cool is it to be once again the youngest……good find….
Despite the cold, ice and snow….got out on Friday for the drive/lunch/walk weekly…….picked up lunch at the now carry-out only Java Babas…first time this year, after years of thrice weekly visits….and drove through the dirt road mounds of fresh snow to the picture perfect hamlet of Grafton…..at which we discovered a wonderland of dozens of miles of well-groomed cross country/snowshoes trails…..up and through the foothills of The Greens…with very few brave souls about…..this was the astounding find of the year……absolutely Magnifico…
Getting to be time……making plans to return to the heartland in the next 23- weeks……surrendering……back to new house, vaccine availability, Door Dash, Grub Hub, next day Amazon delivery, Chinese, Grocery, Mart five minutes away, streets without snow…and eventually…. kids and grandkids……not without trauma to leave the mountain cocoon, but feeling like it’s time. Trying to pull off a coup, and get first dose of the love potion here before leaving……and manage to access the second dose back in Ohio……safe to say the vaccinators are not set up for this scenario…. but am willing to bribe……
And then……ruminating on The Year of Plague…………has it been all bad (good argument for the affirmative) ……but I’ve been ruminating on THE Gifts of forced exile….and arrived at the following:
Discovering the extraordinary array of streaming……who is not juggling five shows at a time for binging?
Rediscovering the magic of books……………just finished my 140th of the last 12 months…. I’ve got 12 libraries on call to find my muses.
Babies………seems like a lot of them coming……why might this be?
Take out…. who knew you could get so much to eat without ever coming in contact with another human being…. has some attraction….
Relationships……how may straight days have you spent in the company of your significant other…. without calling the police…
Refection……what an opportunity this has been to consider who you really want to be and try it out…. time is on my side, yes it is
Health…. never around anyone…. never get sick…my longtime doctor thinks have I’ve passed it’s been so long since I’ve seen him
S-L-O-W-I-N-G D-O-W-N………. have you gotten off the train?
Spending…. what is there to spend money on….no movies, eating out, concerts, gym memberships…. just a little carry out, a few edibles, a lot of Amazon….
And…waking up each morning…to one more gifted day on the Plagued Planet……. we shall overcome….
And that, my friends, is one more Sunday Sermon…………………………smile on your brother….
Love from afar, Papi
