The local weather station reports the temperature feels like seven degrees. Not to me it doesnt. Theres something about the air that grows still, pregnant with anticipation, before a good storm hits. We are just back from a walk through the dark and it feels still outside. Calm and still. I brought my hat and facemask but didnt need either. We moved through the village, which feels a lot like the air does. We were two ghosts. Not much happening right now. The snow will start overnight. My friends in Massachusetts are supposed to get the brunt of the snow and wind and its predicted well get anywhere between ten and fifteen inches. Thats the most substantial snow weve had this winter . . . so far. I like these days. The set up days to a big event. We wont be walking much tomorrow so we took three strolls today, a total of maybe five miles at most. It felt good. I was also busy at home, while Atticus split his time between napping and watching me in the kitchen. I dont worry about storms. No reason to panic. This is what happens up here in the winter. It snows. Some winters are harsher than others. And while I dont worry about the weather, I do prepare for it. We did stop off at the Hannaford today, and the Local Grocer. Vegetables and fruits for juicing. I made a batch of almond milk and picked up some organic cocoa to make hot chocolate with. Some cinnamon sticks to simmer in water on the stovetop. I also bought some chicken. I dont eat meat any longer, but over the past few months Ive been cooking for an elderly man in area who lost his wife about six months ago. Theyd been together forever and figured theyd grow old side by side. They did. They just didnt realize it. Then she was gone and he, an independent fellow with a tough Yankee spirit, was alone. Thats when he realized theyd grown old together. He had to sell the house because it was too much for him. It was hard to give up a home where everything had its place for fifty years, especially when it came to the two of them. Id see him sitting in local restaurants after she died, a cane in hand, his pride now his partner. Without telling him, Id pay for his lunch, and other lunches to follow. The people in the restaurants he favors told him, Your money is no good here. He didnt much like it. Or at least he acted like he didnt. One day he blocked my way into the post office with his cane. You dont have to do what youre doing, you know. I can take care of myself. Yeah, I know that. We hardly know each other. I know that, too. So why you doing what you are doing? Just because. Because why? I smiled and told him, Because I dont think your wife would be happy about you eating frozen dinners. Atticus and I walked away and that night I left some spaghetti and meatballs for him outside his door. I rang the bell and we didnt wait for him to open it. A few days later we saw him at the bank and he said, How are you with pork chops? Huh? You make good pork chops? I guess you are about to find out, I told him. He looked as cross as ever when we left. But before we could get in the car he came walking out and waived his cane at me. Thank you. Youre welcome. So now I make him meals several times a week and leave them for him. Im not rich but its a wonderful feeling to invest in another. Very often people talk about how important it is to be kind to animals. I agree, but in the process I also think that its important to extend a helping hand to those on two legs as well. I think we have a choice when it comes to loving animals and that is to allow them to make our world more beautiful through the friendship, just as we make their lives better. Or we can hide behind the animals and from people and the rest of the world. Heres the thing about this old guy. Hes a lot like Will was when I first met Will. Lonely. Confused. Angry. Heartbroken. They both kept their walls up. I choose not see much difference between them, or humans and non-human animals everywhere. I choose to see whats shared. None of us is perfect and I think Ive made as many mistakes and poor choices as most others Ive met through the years. But even as we stumble through our days meeting good people, mean people, and crazy people, we can still do something for someone else on occasion. Sometimes we have to pick our spots because we get worn down by the angry and the crazy. Yet still we can try. Tomorrow, as the snow falls heavily throughout New England, well be warm inside. Ill be happy knowing that this elderly fellow has a crockpot full of chicken stew and a basket of biscuits to hold him over until we drop in on him again. Storms can be dangerous. They can seem wicked and at their worst they can feel like death, especially when you are in one on top of a frozen mountain miles away from your car or the nearest person. But storms can also be a reason to pull yourself together and get comfortable with a warm house, good scents, good books and music, and the satisfaction of having touched another. To answer that elderly fellows question of why?, I know what its like to be on the other end and have been touched by others through the years. In life, I believe our job is not so much to be perfect, but to strive to be better than we were yesterday. Stay warm and safe if you are being hit by the storm over the next couple of days, Look out for your neighbors, as I know some of you already do, and count your blessings about how beautiful everything will look when the still air comes, the clouds recede, and the miracle of all that unblemished white reveals itself to you. Onward, by all means. Tom
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 23:58:21 +0000
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