Wow. I woke up feeling great, excited as a child on Christmas morning as I peeked out the window at two inches of new fallen snow with more coming. I ate a leisurely breakfast, swept the walk and vehicles, and read literature related to my research. By 9:15 am I was rearing to go, and felt like half a day had passed already.
I was a little disappointed that no one else from the dept showed up today, having been expecting colleague Dr Bill and grad candidate Lori. Maybe they feared driving--though light powder, the snow had melted to the warmer pavement and was slick. Oh well, RTD & I make a good pair.
As we started down our hill, I saw that Tony Jangula -- our one man road crew in Walkerville -- was stuck with the plow truck. It's a big F350-size flatbed vehicle with chains on the rear, but Tony had dropped a front wheel off the edge while clearing a neighbor's driveway. I had my little LandRover, but it was a downhill pull so we hooked up a chain between the rigs, I gave a little tug and then a big jolt, and the most important truck in the town of Walkerville was freed. I felt good, as I always do after getting myself or someone else unstuck.
Driving up Moulton Road, however, a high school kid in a little black car slid sideways through a turn and I nearly T-boned him. Would have, had I not driven into a three foot snowbank to get out of the little bastard's way. I was pissed, as this kid drives recklessly as a matter of habit, and he's nearly hit me a few times before. Oh well, defensive driving pays off.
Still angry as I pulled into The Moulton parking lot, went through my basic "sun salutation" yoga, clipped on the skis, and headed up the main road/trail. Had to rewax right away: four or more inches of new snow, 22 deg F, but still Blue Extra gave little grip. Purple did the trick and I was on my way. Within a half mile I had forgotten all about reckless kid drivers.
RTD and I did a sort of figure-8 loop on upper Nugget, up Buzzy, slalom down the pole line (the fresh snow made my imitation of tele turns look pretty good!), up the old road to the east, back down the ridge and into Buzzy, then around lower Nugget. Simple and short, but sweet.
When I returned home the endorphins were still pumping and KUFM "morning freeforms" was playing waltzes. I had a deep moment of reminisence -- much like the way a smell can trigger a memory -- of waltzing little Emily around our kitchen many years ago. There was nothing to be done but scoop up PhoebeTheCat (who loves being held anyway, anyhow) and take a few turns around the kitchen. Life is good.
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