LIVING WITH SNOW

While many in the northern hemisphere are still living in snowy condition, we in Australia left our summer, which was no summer, behind; and have officially entered autumn.

Seeing on the news the heavy snowstorms some of you went through, reminded me of our snow experiences when we arrived in Davenport Iowa to study chiropractic. You see, we never lived with snow before.

I thought you’d get a kick out of reading about some of the ‘living with snow’ adjustments we went through. I have therefore copied a small section out of my book – “from the promised Land to the lucky Country,” that illustrates, in a small way, the many surprises we got. I hope you get a giggle or two out of it.

“Living with snow is new to us, and deep winters of below freezing point are something we have never encountered. Of black ice or sleet, we did not even hear. From what we have seen in films and on TV, snow is white and beautiful. We know that people wear heavy winter clothing at snow time, but it never occurs to us how cold it really is, or what being that cold feels like. The coldest we have ever experienced is the occasional 5°C, and that at night, while tucked nicely in our warm beds. And here we are - completely unprepared for what’s coming.

Early on a sunny morning, with not a cloud to be seen and with the house nice and warm, I decide to empty the rubbish. Walking out of the kitchen door, I have the shock of my life when I find myself hitting the footpath with a heavy thump. Sitting there on a very sore, cold and wet behind, I cannot for the life of me figure out what made me fall. Ignoring it, I step off the path and go to the bin next to the drive. There, I slip down the black-ice-covered ramp, and cannot get up again. Lying sprawled on my tummy in full daylight, trying to crawl up the lawn, all I can see is frozen water droplets and nothing to grab hold of. Finally, I give up and walk very slowly along the public footpath and around the corner to the front steps. At the steps, matters aren’t getting any easier. The steps are as slippery as the car ramp is, and sloped as well. In desperation, I hang on to the single pipe side-rail that is just as frozen. With all the might and determination I can muster, and with hands burning as if I have just been cooked alive, I succeed in getting to the front door exhausted. “

Renate
Artist, poet & the Author of
From the Promised Land to the Lucky Country  

To read reviews and testaments go to http://www.promisedland-renate.com

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