The pipes of the Little-House-On-The-Corner, and its inhabitants, survived the week.
A week of -40 to 55 below wind chills, morning temps between -21 to -30 below, and then warming up to -1 or -2 below.
Yep. A week of what those Inuits waaaaaay up North call "Spring".
There are things you learn when living in painful winds and penetrating cold.
1) God WILL take care of you.
2) Make sure there is a good supply of the Elixir of Knowledge...and a way to boil water.
3) Give yourself an extra 1/2 hour to get anywhere.
4) Firewood needs to be grey and light to give off heat, not white and heavy.
5) A lotta stuff we think is important really isn't.
6) And the things we take for granted become so much more appreciated.
That last one was an eye-opener.
The things that I never noticed or cared about became very noticeable- to the point of fixation.
Like the thickness of socks.
The color, brand, or style didn't matter a bit.
We didn't care if they were stylish or clashed with our ensemble.
They were WARM.
Thank you, relatives, for the Christmas gifts of bulky, weird socks.
And - whoa...
This morning's Elixir has goaded my mind to remember a song.
Huh.
It's "Rainy Day People" by Gordon Lightfoot.
Oh, yeah.
A great song from back when I had hair.
And a 32" waist.
That was quite awhile ago.
There's that one line I've always liked -
"High-steppin' strutters that land in the gutters sometimes need one too."
Yeah.
Sometimes, especially during the hard times, the folks we appreciate most are the ones that love us.
Just the way we are.
The ones that have the "thickest" love. The warmest smiles. The best hugs.
It's great to have 'em when life turns cold and harsh.
And if they don't match our ensembles and clash with our social status, who gives a frozen moose flank about that, eh?
Well, other than the moose...
Yeah.
Oughta change the title of the song, though.
Just to make it more appropriate.
How 'bout "Sub-Zero People"?