TheBanyanTree: Dark

[Margaret R. Kramer]

When we were at the North Shore, the sunlight would start turning gold right
around 3:00 pm or so.  The sun would start sagging towards the horizon,
illuminating the outside with a haunting golden hue, signaling the beginning
of dusk.  Within an hour, with very little segue, it was dark.  Gold to
black, just like that.

I love this time of year when the darkness comes so quickly and settles in
with no announcement.  I turn the lights on and close the blinds.  With the
windows tightly shut against the cold, I can’t hear much outside, and with
the arrival of night, my house seems like it turns itself into a world that
is only mine.

Yesterday, we added about seven inches of snow to that picture.  November,
dark, and snow.  But the snow is melting fast, and I wouldn’t be surprised
if it was gone in a couple of days, since the temperature is going to be
above freezing.

Joe and I left Tofte, MN on the north shore of Lake Superior at 7:30 am
yesterday.  It was cloudy, relatively comfortable temperatures when began
the 230 mile drive back to the Twin Cities.  I was driving, since we took my
sweet VW with great mileage on this trip.

Plus, even though Joe grew up driving manual transmissions, I don’t think he
could drive one now.  Joe has driven automatics for so long, he probably
wouldn’t be able to find the clutch!  He’s never tried to drive my car.  I
often wonder if something happened to me, if he could drive it.  I’ve
offered to let him, but he always refuses.

As we drove south, a little bit of drizzle hit my windshield, and as we kept
going, it turned into a steady rain.  By the time we got to Duluth, it was
raining pretty good.  We stopped just outside of Duluth so I could go to the
bathroom and fill our coffee mugs with coffee from the thermos.  From there,
it was straight home.

We knew we were driving into the teeth of the storm, but we were traveling
on a major freeway, plus, between the two of us, we had about five million
years of winter driving skills we could fall back on.

It started snowing just as we were leaving our stop and as we drove further
south, the snow became steadier and thicker.  For a while, I could hum along
at 75 mph.  Then, as the visibility diminished, I started to slow down – 70
mph, 65 mph, 60 mph, etc.

The road went from wet to snow packed and icy.  We started to see cars and
especially SUVs in the ditch.  SUVs can get you around in deep snow, but
they still slide just like any car.  I think some drivers of SUVs get over
confident and believe they’re kings of the road and nothing is going to
happen to them.  Well, a lot of them were in the ditch.

By the time we were hitting the outer metro, I was going 40-45 mph.  Cars
were beginning to space themselves out, so no one was too close to each
other.  Some cars and trucks passed, and once in a while in passing, they
would hit the slush and spray it all over my windshield.  Those were the
scariest times, because until my windshield wipers could get the sludge off,
I couldn’t see.  Thank goodness, those incidents didn’t happen on a curvy
part of the road.

When we got into the metro proper, we noticed the traffic was much lighter
than normal for a Saturday afternoon.  That was a blessing.  Less people on
the road, less accidents.  Thank goodness, this storm, the first one of the
season, came in on a weekend.  It takes a couple of snowfalls for everyone
to get used to them, and it’s hell on weekdays, when everyone scrambles to
get to work.

It took us five hours to get home, about an hour longer than normal, so we
thought we did pretty well.  I haven’t done any long winter driving for
years, just trips to work in the metro.  Well, this was white knuckle
driving, with almost total concentration as the road conditions changed.
Joe was great, he was helpful and relaxed, and that kept me relaxed.

Joe stayed at my house when we got home.  We never spend entire days
together, except our vacation days.  We live so close to each other, it’s
not necessary.  Plus, what would I do at his house?  I could bring my laptop
and do that, or read a book, but I always have a ton of stuff to do at my
house, so I feel like I waste my time when I’m sitting at his house
(apartment).

But, now Joe has a laptop of his own, and I hooked him into my network, so
he’s content to do stuff while I’m busy doing my house things.  He helped
shovel some snow, but this was heart attack snow, very heavy stuff, and I’m
in better shape, so I did the bulk of the shoveling.

So it was interesting to be “married” again, going out and doing errands,
shoveling, talking, and washing and drying  and folding clothes, and having
lunch and dinner together.  Sometimes I worry if I live alone too long, I’ll
lose flexibility and never be able to have someone live with me again,
because I’ll be “set in my ways.”

But we had a nice time.  Usually when we come back from a trip, we can’t
wait to get away from each other, so it was interesting to spend a “bonus
day” together.

I took Joe home this morning.  I went to work out and faced a packed gym.  I
think my club is doing a promotion, that’s usually when I see many new
faces.  And this is just a preview of the New Year’s Resolutions people
who’ll storm the club in January and hang around until February or March
when they lose interest.  Sundays will be total chaos then.

It felt good to get that heart rate going after sitting on my butt for four
days.

I went out to the cemetery to see Ray.  I’ll get his Christmas wreath next
week.  I saw deer tracks meandering through the grave markers.  Joe and I
didn’t see any live deer up north, but we saw plenty of dead ones on
trailers and on the roofs of SUVs.  Deer hunting season is in full swing.

I saw three bald eagles on this trip.  Awesome.

I got out the Thanksgiving decorations.  The snow and the colder air and the
fact that I was totally ready for winter, got me thinking about
Thanksgiving.  I’m hosting this year, so I’m looking forward to that
wonderful roasting turkey smell in the house.  There’s nothing like it.

I baked some spiced pumpkin bars this afternoon.  I’m waiting for the pan to
cool down before adding the cream cheese frosting.  Hmmmmm.

I paid bills.  Many people got laid off this week from my old job.  I was
just laid off a little over a year ago and I was never so frightened in my
life.  I’m hoping most of them will get jobs soon.  The economy seems like
it’s picking up a bit, so good luck to all of them.


Then I began writing, NaNoWriMo.  The house was quiet, my black cat slept in
my lap, as I typed out more words to my novel.  It’s crappy, but that’s not
the point, the point is to write a story, no matter how good or bad.  Just
to write and get ready for the golden hue right before dark.
     

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net
www.linkedin.com/in/margaretkramer

A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short.    
-Andre Maurois