WINTER DULL
Winter’s in full swing here in the upper Midwest. And while usually something in full swing means it’s running optimally, with the kinks worked out and brimming with interest, not so with winter. It may be the cold, the incessant doom from the tv weathermen, or just the fact that it’s low hanging fruit, but we’ve entered the doldrums.
Which is odd. Is winter’s purpose to numb us? Is it here to force the land into a state of rest, and as the over-achieving annoyingly industrious mammal we don’t know how to do that?
People who live in places like Southern California and Florida say they miss the seasons. Texans don’t, because they’ll never admit things are missing from their state. Arizonans and New Mexicans don’t, because they’re too busy trying to figure out how to get water from the Great Lakes piped down to water their lawns. I digress.
Maybe they’re not missing the winter per se, but the semi-hibernation that happens. All the mad scientists of the Midwest shut themselves in their garages and basements, working on a new chemical property for aluminum, or learning to crochet, just to pass the time in a warmer place.
And then spring comes, and lo and behold, people have been busy! The craft fairs explode with items for sale. A new painting shows up on the wall of a friend’s house. A new song gets played, outside, in a backyard that’s full of green grass and not snow.
Not bad, winter. Not bad.
