For those of you who are completely oblivious, the Northeast (and half the country for that matter) has been getting pounded by one blizzard after another in 2010. Here in Philadelphia, where the history that lies on our doorstep is largely ignored by our residents, we are shivering through history with record setting snowfalls. My employer actually shut down today, deciding that the value of human life is actually worth more than a days worth of sales. Some are posing the question, "What global warming?" To that I say, yes, it's completely shocking that it should be cold and snowing in the middle of winter. It must mean global warming does not exist, of course. But I digress...
Friday night I sat down, prepared for another 20+ inches of snow to drop, and had a quite satisfying evening watching the world turn white out my window. How did I do it, you ask? I shall tell you. I did not make a mad dash to the grocery store and stock up on bread, milk or cookies. I did not ready the snow shovel (mostly because I don't own one). No, instead I poured myself a glass of Westmalle Trappist Tripel, lit a cigar and put on some classic jazz records. I went through Dave Brubeck's Time Out. You can't really go wrong with "Take Five". I dabbled a bit in some Sun Ra ("Round Midnight"), some Miles Davis ("So What") and listened to one of my absolute favorites - Getz/Gilberto. The height of my evening came about halfway through both the cigar and the Tripel when I found my way to Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" off of the 1959 album Mingus Ah Um. Despite being known as the "angry man of jazz," Mingus sure could slow down an evening nicely.
The song was Mingus' tribute to jazz saxophonist Lester Young who died in '59. No surprise, the song features the sax and it gently strolls along, perfect for an evening filled with the silence of a city under a blanket of snow. In perhaps an even more fitting way, as Mingus remembers Young in song, I recall past snowfalls. As I'm listening again right now I remember 1996. I was 15 years old. It was my birthday and I was stuck in the house because we were having the worst blizzard I have experienced (up until now that is). I can remember a couple of years later when I went sledding at Summit Lake Camp while the adults worried about whether we'd be able to drive out of the Catoctin Mountains. Then there was that other time at Summit Lake when our retreat ended early due to snow and I ended up riding home in my principal's car. Fun times. There was that one winter when I got snowed in at Matt's house and we got in trouble for throwing snowballs at passing cars. These are good memories.
I tend to do a bit of belly aching when it comes to snow, but I suppose if there is one thing it's good for it's forcing us all to slow down and giving us an opportunity to remember. So for me, essential for surviving the snow are a good beer, a good smoke, good music and a little trip down memory lane. Food is good too, I suppose.
Stay warm!
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