I started today’s post during the Super Bowl commercials, watching them at my parents’ house. We’d just had our annual Super Bowl pizza, half pepperoni and half ham. When you’ve lived as long as I have without a Tee Vee, the commercials are surreal and even other-worldly. Not a heavenly kind of other-worldliness, either. More like “is this the Apocalypse?” But my rants about 30 and 60 second marketing messages masquerading as entertainment aren’t why most people visit my blog.
Saturday was the first day I felt “well.” Thank you to everyone who sent me “get well” wishes and health suggestions here on the blog or privately. It feels very good to be better, although I think I lost two weeks of my private life. I used the energy I had each day to shuffle up to my office and do my pay job. Happily, Monsieur DeeHan found someone to plow my driveway during Monday’s blizzard and I was able to shovel the foot of snow we got on Friday. The “Maine Work Out.”
On Sunday morning, I snowshoed around the back yard and sunk into the snow about a foot before reaching “equilibrium.” It’s just a good old-fashioned winter; another foot of snow is predicted for later today.
While I was sick a famous blogger decided to stop blogging. One of the things he said in his farewell to his readers was “I am saturated in digital life and I want to return to the actual world again.” This struck a chord with me and I started thinking about the amount of time I spend in the digital world. Reading e-mails, scanning Twitter, and reading blogs. It’s time-consuming. It’s tiring. Sometimes, it’s disquieting because I’m reading about controversies that I can’t fix. I want to be informed, I want to share information. But mostly, I want to live a real life and encourage others to do the same. Sometimes, staring at a screen makes my eyes, mind, and heart hurt.
I noticed not one but two snow forts in town this week. Saturday, I crawled into the one in the picture and took a look around. Not too shabby. The real world is like that sometimes. I’m glad there are still a few children around who know how to dig in and enjoy the snow.
I’ve got a new old secret weapon for today’s snow which hasn’t yet begun to fall.
Before there were Super Bowl commercials, half-time shows, and reality television, there were reclusive socialites living with cats in dilapidated East Hampton estates. The “real world” is sometimes stranger than anything on Tee Vee. If you’re in this part of Maine this week, it’s possible to see the talented Monmouth Community Players present the lives of Big Edie and Little Edie Beale in song. If you’re not familiar with Mrs. Onassis’s relatives, you can read about them here. And then go to the historic theatre at Cumston Hall in Monmouth. It’s a full package of songs, sadness, and strangely sympathetic characters.
It’s a Monday in Maine. Lots of life to live today. Now go put down your device and live it.
Julie-Ann Baumer 
My snow scoop, while not an old school wooden scoop like yours, has been a savior in clearing the nearly 50 inches of snow we’ve received the past week. It is American-made, however, and it’s held up well over the past decade of use. The silver lining in all the snow has been that it’s been the light, fluffy variety. If this had been a wet, heavy snow, snow scoops would have been useless, and it would have been nearly impossible to move without the help of some snow removal superhero.
I push my snow up over my banks to accomodate the snowfall amounts as they stack up. I have several “ramps” that I have to push my loaded scoop up over the top of. It’s a vigorous workout, especially utilizing the lower body.
No apps yet, for making snow disappear. I’m sure there’s some tech device that measures your movements and fitness-related elements of shoveling, however.
Hopefully we have a respite for a few days.
That snow igloo looks impressive!
Patriots’ Rolling Rally in Boston today. Apparently BPW has been working to clear snow along the parade route at taxpayers’ expense. I’m sure these resources were directed from other parts of the city.
No one can make it to work, or the kiddos to school, but snow or not, nothing can dampen our ongoing bread and circuses.
Both of the snow igloos here in town were created by home schooled children. I don’t know what that means, but I was impressed too! Thank you for the tip on the snow ramps…I’m off to have a rolling rally right here in my driveway and build me some ramps!
I guess the Rolling Rally has been pushed back to Wednesday. Glad to know some young ‘uns are learning how to build stuff. We’re going to need them in the future. Lord knows, we have far too many people that can’t even shovel a driveway.
I saw the young igloo builder yesterday; he is also employed as a dog walker for one of the neighbors. I confessed that I had toured the igloo and was very impressed. I asked him if he had done a lot of research on building igloos, internet research, etc. He modestly replied “my father is a really good igloo maker.”
A hint and a segue to tomorrow’s post titled “Oh My Papa…”