By the lamppost one could see the flurries making their way down. Hours later, flurries turn to steady snow which turns to a soft white blanket upon everything in sight. Cars are coated in snow. Slowly traffic begins to fade. Streets are lonely now. The dusting is now two inches thick; soon going to four. As the hours pass some twelve inches of snow have graced our neighborhood. Cars are white like powdery jelly doughnuts.
If lampposts could count the fallen snow, I wonder how many flakes have crossed its path. Snow makes its way down gently, softly, quietly descending on to the ground without a sound; without a squeak. At the corner, an old-time pharmacy stands. Either side has display windows. I peer through the glass at the enticing array of metal and plastic toys available in1962. Gee!
So many! Wish I had them all! I step inside with my mom. By the pay-counter sit small boxes holding some toys. For a nickel, I can get a bouncing ball, set of jacks, or a very small water pistol. For ten-cents, bigger water guns are available as are Spalding balls. But it’s the twenty-five cent water guns I love. They come in beautiful clear, see-through colors of red and blue.
One toy is costly. I learn from mom, it’s a Russian Roulette, and the colors of black, red, and gold are appealing; but at a dollar, who would want it? She says it’s a bad toy that begins with fun and ends with fights. Toys are so appealing.
On the opposite corner stands an old building. The type with display windows on three sides. All the stores look like pictures in a movie or in a magazine. They’re made of wood. The glass allows me to see hundreds of toys! Oh boy! I would love to be there and play. Inside, on a large table, I see small cars and trucks. There are also dolls. Mom bought me a beautiful red, rubber car with yellow wheels and a blue and white airplane. Nels has a white metal tow-truck and a small metal truck with animals painted on the sides.
Outside, streets, stoops, and everything gets covered in snow. Soon everything around us becomes deft in silence. Traffic virtually stops, while people withdraw. Heavier snowfall comes down. Drifts pile up. Garbage cans look like giant ice cream cones, and my mom and I slowly make our way to our stoop leaving behind tin cars, plastic cowboys, small trucks, and brightly-colored water guns. But a 10-cent bag of plastic coins made its way to our home. There it’ll be warm and we will nap after some hot Cocoa-Marsh. Later, I will watch the snow coming down and count the flakes while I play with my coins.
“Out of the south comes the whirlwind: and cold out of the north” (Job 37:9).
Happy Winter!
Sam
