it's a zen thing

March 24, 2004

There's still snow on the ground in shady spots here on the edge of the universe. The temperature has been sneaking up on 50 degrees today, enough to fool one into thinking spring is right around the corner. So imagine my surprise when I'm driving down Elm St. to do some errands in Andover and my eyes behold a marvelous snowman with pebble eyes, dried grass and reeds for hair, and fallen branches for arms. And the guy in a sport coat putting the finishing touches on this creation is Tom! Whoa! U-turn on Elm Street!

Tom says he just had to take advantage of the last of the snow before it melts. Impermanence and all that. He takes some photos of the snowman in case it melts before Julie gets home from the Historical Society. I pose with my arm around the melting snowman. Then we zip over to Perfecto's for coffee. We try to get hold of Ned on my cellphone but it turns out he's out of town.

Dave pours our coffee and we tell him about the snowman sure to melt by tonight. "It's a Zen thing," says Tom.

Later tonight I drove by and the wonderful reedy head had already melted and fallen to the ground.

It's a Zen thing.

Today's Reading
My Famous Evening by Howard Norman

This Year's Reading
2004 Booklist