Ice Storm Ruminations

Elmer the husky barked his boredom.

The squirrels slid on the ice chasing peanuts.

I stepped outside to test the footing down to yard. I slipped on the stairs and fell on my ass. Nothing damaged.

A homeless man wearing a backpack walked down the middle of the street at six in the morning. Where in the world was he going in the ice at this time?

I read the Washington Post online.

I read a Michael Chabon novel.

I drank cold coffee.

I watched the local news weather reports.

I wondered where my great collaborator has gone.

The forecast calls for an afternoon melt.

I do my very best Jimmy Carter impression and wear a sweater and keep the thermostat at 63 degrees. Just imagine a President asking people to turn down the heat and wear a sweater in the great cause of energy conversation. It will never happen again because look what happened to Carter. It was all Tip O’Neil’s fault. He fucked Carter over and we got Reagan and look what happened to America.

A few vehicles pass. People have to get to work. They have to help care for my dad in assisted living or open the convenience stores. Front line heroes the politicians called them during the pandemic. All but forgotten now. The politicians didn’t even raise the federal minimum wage.

I listened to the morons on sports radio. They are the dumbest high paid men and women in America.

I wondered how my homeless friend Mark made out during the storm.

Icicles hung from the gutters.