Musings on a winter's day....

There is nothing like nursing the flu on a Sunday morning in the dead of winter in the Northeastern part of North America.  The snow on the ground and on the roof deck  is in layer upon layer like a crazy iced Napoleon pastry, and is now slowly melting to reveal the wet and glistening surfaces beneath.. The ice floes from the upper Hudson have broken up into frozen chunks of ice melting as they slip into more and more salted waters. The Sanitation Department has plowed my surrounding streets, but the traffic has been slow and sparse. The gulls have returned to the air, scouting the  left over remains in the parking lot of a nearby brewery/bar where young revelers partied into the wee hours last night at a hot rock concert on a rather frigid night.  The cab company and the local train system carried most of them away before I awoke this morning. 

So it is pretty quiet here in St.George.  Even the normal gathering of freighters and tankers has diminished greatly due to the freezing water temperatures and the dangers of swiftly moving ice. The only real movement on the harbor appears to be the ferry as is plies its way from here to Manhattan with it's plaintive foghorn announcing its departures and arrival. I am keeping warm drinking hot tea and wearing my sweats seated with the ever-ubiquitous box of tissues at hand to assist with the occasional bouts of sneezing that comes with this year's flu taking some time to think about my past week and the juxtaposition of events and occurrences that meld in my mind.

Now, normally I would be away this week enjoying someplace somewhat warmer than here.  Over the years I could be found cruising to  Bahamas, Jamaica or Mexico along either the Pacific or the Gulf Coast.  One year we sailed out of New Orleans and spent time in the tropical lands of Belize, Costa Rica, Mexico and Guatemala.  I have stayed with friends in Cancun several times. Or I have flown  across the Atlantic to Ireland, London, Paris or Spain. This was done mostly while I was employed full time at the New York City Department of Education.  Those week long trips during Presidents' Week were hard earned and most needed.  There is nothing that even compares with the long school stretch between January and Spring Break in April.  The early darkness and bone-chilling cold of New York can bring on the seasonal depression of anyone who is genetically disposed to it...such as those of us descended from Northern European stock.  There is a reason the suicide rate in Scandinavian countries rises in mid-winter. Now, that I am no longer working full time, I can afford to travel in the off-season, which I do. 


This past week marked the beginning of the penitential season of Lent, the time of fasting and preparation for Easter.   Tuesday of this week is known as "Shrove Tuesday", "Fat Tuesday" or Mardi Gras in the European tradition that sees revelers tossing beads, dancing and parading in the streets of  places as far apart as New Orleans and Rio de Janiero. One year I was in Athens  for this reveling week, and can attest to the fact that the Greeks are no shrinking violets when it comes to celebrating on that night. Dancing on tables and throwing plates were important components of the event.  We, thankfully, sat on a balcony watching the activity at a safe distance. On this past Shrove Tuesday, we rather sedate Episcopalians settled down to an annual Pancake Supper event where we eat pancakes and sausages, drink tea and coffee and imbibe in a sherry or two.  We then burn left over palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday and crush them into a fine powder to use on the next day, Ash Wednesday.

For the third year in a row, I have trudged down to the ferry terminal at 7:00am and placed myself in front of a coffee shop located in the terminal and distributed ashes to folks heading into Manhattan to get to work. This was the first year I worked in tangent with some of my Lutheran colleagues who were on the opposite side of the terminal. We were there for two and a half hours and distributed ashes to 503 people.  Now, this practice is not universally embraced by clergy.  Some of my colleagues have strong feelings about distributing ashes in a non-liturgical setting, and I understand both their concerns and respect their opinions. But, I would invite them to try it once.  Many of the folks who stopped by thanked us for being there so early, and for giving them  an opportunity to get ashes before they go to work.  Others asked if this meant they did not have to go to church, to which we answered resoundingly "NO. If you have the opportunity to go to a service, do it."  Still others asked us to pray with them, which we did on an individual basis

Now I know I probably picked up my current flu from someone on Wednesday, but...that's life. I think I will survive...just have to keep drinking more tea.


Some other winter musings from Mama Cass and Co.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kcmwXUdDCE