walking on water

The Canadian geese were surprised by the layer of ice on the pond, it seemed, as they walked around on top of the pond. They kept looking down--for food? for a crack in the ice? in disbelief that only yesterday they could swim? They plodded around for awhile, then disappeared, perhaps to fly South in search of swimmable water.

The trusty weather report (plant tongue firmly in cheek) is that we're going to be having a "wintery mess" through next week. Oh, boy. The current radar makes it seem as if it's snowing right now, but it's not. The snow is "aloft." That's a nice neutral way to put it. In reality, it's all waiting for me to get into my car at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Then all those evil snowflakes will swoop down and attack! The little "May be icy?" message on my car screen is likely too tentative. I wonder if there's a "Warning, Will Rogers!! Danger!! Danger!!" anywhere in the message database.

My students were complaining yesterday about the cold. It happens this way every year--all these people, born and raised in Michigan (most of them), seem to act shocked when winter arrives. All of them are 18 + years old. They've seen this happen every year. What is there to be surprised about? It's Michigan. It's the end of November. And the highways turn into bumper car rides when all these mostly-native drivers are suddenly amazed that the roads are slippery with black ice. People, this happens every year! It's MICHIGAN!! Duh!

One other not-so-fun trait of the season--dry air. The humidity levels drop, my hands dry out and crack and bleed, the cat gets electrocuted on a regular basis, and my sinuses ache. I woke up this morning with an intense headache that two cups of coffee failed to alleviate. Part of the woes of being a transplanted Louisiana native is that the humidity in La. is so high, my sinuses grow accustomed to functioning partly as gills, and they just can't handle dry air. Additionally, all the buildings in Michigan are overheated. Outside, it's 25 degrees. Walk indoors, and it's 78 degrees. I'm surprised my nose doesn't spout blood spontaneously upon the change in temperature. Certainly, my body does not like the weather. My hip aches. My teeth ache. Where is the exciting and invigorating briskness that winter-lovers praise? It's gone, gone, gone. I've lost (never had) that winter lovin' feelin'. Sorry, Righteous Brothers. Dr. S.