TheBanyanTree: The Lady in Black

[Margaret R. Kramer]

What is it about February 17 that makes me feel lighter somehow?  Well, when
I got up this morning, it was actually light out.  I wasn’t getting up in
the dark.  I didn’t have to turn on the lights as I moved through the house
towards the coffee pot and my caffeine fix.

It was 12 degrees above zero rather than below zero this morning.  That
doesn’t seem very warm, but we’ve been in the deep freeze for over three
weeks.  I’m probably known in our neighborhood as the “lady in black”
because I’m always wearing my full length black coat, black hat, black
scarf, and black mittens.  Axel is the only spot of color as we take our
evening walk.  Axel wears his Christmas red sweater.

I was able to walk Axel without his sweater last night.  I was still the
“lady in black,” but the black scarf wasn’t wrapped around my face, and my
fingers weren’t curled up into my palms in my mittens.  Axel took advantage
of the warm temps and stopped every few steps to smell all the smells he
missed over the last few weeks.  What a joy for a beagle.

I heard birds singing this morning instead of chilly silence.

We’ve turned the corner towards spring.  Yes, we’ll get more snow and we’ll
get cold again, but we won’t get really cold anymore.  We have more daylight
now and any snow we get will melt quickly.  Soon I’ll be able to discard my
long black coat and wear my blue jacket.  I won’t be the “lady in black”,
but the “lady with the slow moving beagle.”  And the birds’ chorus will only
grow louder.

There is also something about spring that makes me want to spend money.  Ray
and I are trying to spend less money, but whenever I think of saving money,
I start thinking of ways to spend it.  Here’s an example:  I have three
computers of my very own.  I have a desktop, which is maybe five or six
years old.  It works just fine.  I have a laptop computer which is four
years old and it works just fine.

And I have my work laptop, which isn’t really mine, but I lug home everyday
because I can’t leave it at work unless I lock it up.  So I bring it home
just in case I want to do something work related (and that never happens!),
then I have my computer with me.  It works just fine, too.

But I have this big urge to buy a new desktop.  I don’t need it.  I just
want it.  So I’m trying to work through the differences between “want” and
“need.”  So far, the “need” wins and I haven’t bought a new computer.

Besides, Ray also has a desktop computer and his own brand new laptop, which
we bought at Christmas time.  We have FIVE computers in this house and two
people!  We’re too gadget crazy, I guess.  Some people have a lot of TVs (we
have four TVs and really only use two of them), well, we have a lot of
computers.

But I was itching to get something new.  Now that I’m traveling a bit more
for work, I noticed all my co-workers and client counterparts had cool cell
phones.  My cell phone is about two and a half years old and it’s already a
dinosaur.  It’s big and clunky and doesn’t have a camera in it.  I never
added anyone to its address book.  I never used its features.  I carry it
with me in case of emergencies and it’s a cheap way to call Ray while I’m on
the road.

My son bought a new cell phone that does everything but the dishes.  The
people I work with have blackberries and cell phones that do the tango.  All
mine does is ring.  And not very often, since I hate talking on the phone
and don’t have any friends.

Someone mentioned upgrading to me, so I went to the Verizon web site and
looked at the upgrades.  Yes, I had a $100 credit to get a new phone.  So I
bought the Motorola MOTOKRZR K1m which actually ended up to be free, since
my credit covered the cost.  The phone doesn’t do the dishes, but it has a
camera, video capacity, a memory card slot, and other stuff.  I haven’t used
it yet, I just got it programmed to my number, but I’ll work on learning
what it does this weekend.  Old people like me need tutorials on how to use
this stuff.  I will add numbers into the phone book this time.

And, guess what?  The phone is not cherry, white, or gray, but black, for
the “lady in black.”

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach.
~Elizabeth Barrett Browning