Polar Bears and Fireworks

 

Nate drove to Birch Bay this morning to join in the New Year's Day Polar Bear run. For those of you who live in the sane world: Polar Bear runs are where people, who we let walk free among us, take off most of their clothes and plunge themselves in cold water of lakes, rivers, or in this case, the Pacific Ocean. The unbelievable part is not that they do it voluntarily, but that they claim it is fun afterward.

I'm spending my morning cleaning up odds and ends of the holidays. Unfortunately, I have a huge space behind the furnace and under the stairs where I can store way more stuff than I should keep from year to year. That's the problem with storage space, if you have it, you keep things like singing wreaths and Pull My Finger Santas. (Gifts are the hardest thing to throw away.)

The neighborhood fire bugs were setting off fireworks every hour last night from nine o'clock until midnight. I like to think that every boom I hear cost a hundred dollars as I listen to there money going up in smoke. The old year went out with a lot of noise.

I guess holidays are about breaking up the routine of everyday life. Whether it's shocking the skin with icy water or pounding your eardrums with noise, insanity displays itself proudly.

Maybe housework is the craziest one of all.

Nancy Sherer

 

 


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