Here it is coming up on the best two months of the year at the East Pole, There are trails to run, creeks to cross, gear to haul, firewood to cut and so much reading to catch up on. To top it off, I am finding myself in a limbo that at its resolution may see me on that trail back to combat hauling and living out there again. Not that it's a bad option, but if the trail is full of lakes and creeks are open with very little snow cover, major hauling may be out of the question.All that's missing is winter. After two weeks of temperatures spooking 50 and watching every bit of snow around here melt away, there's not much winter left. Even today as temperatures turned colder, the high still was 36 with no snow visible in the forecast. According to a weather site I watch, there is 19 inches of snow at the nearest measuring station to the East Pole, but that's at a high school and I am not sure who checks it or how often. I’ve seen it stay 21 inches for weeks on end.
Am I waiting like, um, maybe Samuel Beckett's characters for Godot, or John Fogerty's "Someday," or Gary Clark Jr.'s train to come. In the songs someday never comes and neither does the train and in the story the protagonists eventually face the frustration of Godot never showing up. Will that be the outcome also as Alaska waits in January for winter?One of my earliest memories from childhood is from a day when the sun shined and then it rained alternately almost all day. Through an involved thought process I figured out I was 4 or 5 at the time. I wanted to go out and play, but every time I opened the door the rain started. At the time I had a toy gun. It was made of stamped metal with a likeness of a machine gun painted on it. If you pulled the trigger it made a noise and shot some sparks. I fired it out the door into the rain and amazingly the rain stopped. I went outside and played until the rain started again and went back in, waiting a while and then shot the rain again and it stopped. I had the magic gun that stopped rain. Sort of wish I had one now that would start something.
People outside are going through a rough winter and while I can sympathize, to a certain extent I am envious. While the warm weather and clear roads here make life easier than usual for January, I would love to see temperatures 0 to abut 30 and six to eight inches of new snow.
It looks like to this point that is to be the fate this year, waiting with those others for Godot and trains and some day and winter.
The title of the new book or song might be "Waiting out the Polar Vortex." Meanwhile in Fogarty's voice "winter-er-er-er never comes."
It looks like to this point that is to be the fate this year, waiting with those others for Godot and trains and some day and winter.
The title of the new book or song might be "Waiting out the Polar Vortex." Meanwhile in Fogarty's voice "winter-er-er-er never comes."
Creedence Clearwater Revival "Someday."
