Senior
Slant...
January Memories
By Hilda Maston
The mountains are white and beautiful in the sun this
morning. At dawn they were a glorious shade of
pink. These are some compensation for the
bone-chilling cold that January brought us.
Of
course, since I was raised in Wisconsin, I make light of
the cold weather. (That means I don't have to go
out in it.) But I do remember walking the mile to
school in below-zero temperatures.
Needless
to say, we were well bundled up. I remember the
big corduroy coats with sheepskin lining and a round
sheepskin collar big enough to warm your neck and most
of your head.
These
wraps were quite expensive, but since they were
gender-neutral they could be passed down from one kid to
another for years.
Beside s
the great coat, we wore full-length long-johns, and
thick cotton stockings, wool mittens, wool socks, and
lined boots.
A
snowball fight on the way to school would make the
cloakroom smell of wet wool most of the day. If it
was really cold, we would warm some rocks on the
pot-bellied stove and slip them in our pockets.
Isn't
memory a strong force? One whiff of wet wool, and
I am back trudging off to school through the snow.
Of
course, we didn't have snow days off from school.
There was no worry about school buses getting stuck in
the snow or sliding off the road because we didn't have
school buses and kids could walk where no school bus
could go.
Now, of
course, like most senior folks I don't have to trudge
through the snow or go out on a cold day. I can
admire the cold and snow from the warm side of the
window. Anyway, the snow is prettier than the
winter rains.
