Well folks, they don't really tell you what to expect during your first winter snowstorm. You expect (and hear) the usual:
'Do you have a warm coat?'
'Did you bring gloves?'
'Are your boots waterproof?'
Yes, yes, and sort of. But what they should have said to the new New Yorker, or at least the one adrift in snow flurries and sparkling holiday decorations, was that the first snowfall really is the stuff of memory, and it's never like this again. This is especially true for someone who hasn't grown up around the stuff, and I daresay there are few places which wear snow - the pristine first fall - so well. Parks rendered bare of leaves are transformed and adults become children and run in the snow. The Empire State Building, looking like a gigantic tree ornament, glows proudly red and green, beckoning those in the distant snow-packed neighborhoods to come play, or at the very least, come shop.
And while I can't wait to see Rockefeller Center all dressed up, it's not where I want to be tonight, this first night of snow. It's kind of overpowering, the urge to wear fuzzy slippers, make hot chocolate, and listen to bluesy standards while sitting in the dark, or as fate would have it, as dark as the laptop light allows.
On a lighter (and less ridiculous) note, I had my first 'angry New Yorker' experience. Or was the victim of one, anyway. Crossing the street I nearly ran into a man - I think he ran into me on purpose - and I proceeded to get verbally assaulted in a most unexpected and unpleasant way. Thoughts raced through my mind as I ignored him and kept walking, his breath hot on my cheek as he walked alongside me and continued to shout in my ear. I wondered if he was going to hit me, stab me, or push me into the street. Was he a pickpocket? Was this karma for walking past a volunteer for homeless children and smiling only? A little shaken, I kept walking until traffic wouldn't let me go any further. Instead of more shouting, people who had witnessed it came up to me to see if I was okay and to bitch about the crazy. I figure this is par for the course, and luckily came home with little more than a headache. Which is less than I will have when all of this white stuff turns sloshy yellowish gray, and I have to go to a temp job across town!
In case I don't see all of you this holiday, I wish you the very best.
