Friday, May 27, 2011

Naked Shortcake

  Something very sad happened this morning. I went to my Uncle’s farm for some fresh strawberries and went home empty handed because there has been too much rain. The red ripe strawberries were rotting on the ground due to excessive water from the sky. Oh the sadness that will weigh down my naked shortcake this evening.

  It made me reflect, as I am wont to do, about my own situation. Barring nude desserts, the weather has almost no impact on my day. I must be rich or something. There is very little the weather can do to slow me down. Sure it can cause some inconvenience or even throw the schedule off, but my work day will continue no matter what the conditions outside. And my entertainment is found in many places, outside if possible or inside if not.

  My job in front of the computer could conceivably happen anywhere with one of those magic connections. The information I work with is personal and sensitive, so I do not take it with me to the local coffee shop or open air market. But for arguments sake I could. If the weather were nice I would find my way to some dappled sunlight. If the weather were treacherous I would stay in my underclothes all day and still complete my assignments. Even as it is without the freedom to roam I am able to get to my job’s building in all matter of inclement conditions.

  Not that I do, I mean come on, if two feet of snow were to fall, and it has, I would stay home, and I have, and will again.

  But it does make me pause and remember my family on the farm. They have a very different relationship with the weather. There is a reason the farmers have come up with their own almanac. It is more than just important, the weather is the one factor that makes the day or crushes the crop. Just look as those little red delicious fruit with the blue bruised underbelly.

  I’m sure I don’t need to tell you about being out to sea on a long boat when the north wind has taken a turn for the worse. Count yourself blessed if you do not have a visceral memory of your nose hairs frozen to the interior of your nose as the mucus trails toward your cheek blown by the biting wind. It’s not pretty, and it kind of hurts.

  But these are not things I deliberate over. I have arrived at a place where I look out the window in the morning and think, “oh, nice it’s raining” or “great, it’s sunny” with never more thought than if I need a hat for my bald head. From time to time I am surprised by the sudden change in the weather. But even then I can go to the grocery store and get strawberries grown in Maryland or Florida.

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