We woke up this morning to about 6 inches of snow on the ground and more coming down. This was on top of all the unmelted snow that hardened into land glaciers over the past few weeks. Back home, you can wait the snow out — it’s bound to melt in a couple of days. Here there’s going to be snow on the ground until April. Either you get out in it or you hibernate.
Today we had a brunch date with some friends at the Temple Bar, maybe a mile from our apartment. Staying warm hasn’t been the problem, at least so far — I’ve got good heavy boots and thick socks and Thinsulate gloves and a couple of wool hats that make me look like a serial killer. Plus you may have noticed I have a good bit of natural insulation. What I’m worried about is falling. I probably have this quote wrong — I seem to remember Oliver Hardy saying it — but the gist is this: Why do big guys walk so carefully? Because it’s a lot harder to get up when they fall.
Lucky for us, we had the best kind of snow for walking — soft and dry, like beach sand. We made it to brunch and back just fine. A good lesson — the stuff you fear is rarely as big a deal as you think.
Of course, I’ve just jinxed myself into taking a header into a snowbank before the week is out.
Tomorrow night is the event of the winter at Harvard — Primal Scream. At midnight before the first day of exams, undergrads strip naked and sprint around Harvard Yard. (The Wikipedia article is priceless: Beginning in the 1960s students would congregate in the Yard or open their windows and just yell for 10 minutes. It was designed as a way to release stress. By the 1990’s, the streaking aspect of the evening had become prominent. The transition from yelling to streaking is unclear.)
We’ll be there to root them on, and, of course, to laugh ’til we choke. Apparently photos are encouraged. (We’ll see about sharing the pictures. This is a family blog.)
Weather forecast for tomorrow night: 18 degrees, possible snow. Could make for some interesting frostbite.