A fellow plamerite who I shared the elevator with asked me "Are you gonna walk??"as I headed down 55th instead of waiting at the bus stop.
Yes, I am.
It was 23 degrees, the first truly below freezing day we've had this fall. I honored the coming of winter by walking all the way to the reg from my dorm, while my uchi mates fretted and panicked that the bus was late. The cold was marvelous, eventually. For the first few minutes my eyes were tearing up from the wind and my hands were cold, not because I wasn't wearing gloves but because my sleeves are too big and the wind creeps up my arm and into my pockets.
I wrapped my scarf around my head and then around my neck, leaving my face exposed so that i looked like a kind old granny. If I had worn it a little closer to my eyes, i would have looked like a muslim woman.
But this scarf method prevents my beloved-fleshy-under-the-chin-to-the-neck-area from being horribly cold. A cold under the neck area makes me curse the climate. My ears and part of my head were kept beautifully toasty thanks to this scarf method . I can understand why muslim women and grannies women wearing those head scarves- it feels really good and cozy to have your head wrapped up. More secure than a hat and scarf combo, the scarf around the head is simpler too- only one article is needed instead of two.
I was still cold, sort of unhappy because my hands and legs were growing numb until I got to Woodlawn and and turned to walk to 57th. The sun was no longer blocked by the buildings, and god's own heat lamp was glaring in my face, bathing my legs and head with a real tangible warmth. With the help of the sun, my blood began moving again and warmth returned to my legs and finger tips.
My the time I got to the library, I was overheated, and read to unzip my coat. I love the winter!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
love this post. as you already know, i am all about the walking, especially during wintertime.
ReplyDeletethe most fabulous thing about the winter is the contrasts! the cold outside, the coziness inside. the freezing of your eyelashes, and the sweat/overheating.
además, i like your writing style, mujer. i do. very much so.
i also find it ironic that you are hardcore enough to walk to campus in the winter, but not to take the stairs down? whaaat?
ReplyDeletehahaha! i don't even notice going to elevator sometimes. i do walk down the stairs when i'm in a hurry
ReplyDelete