InsaneJournal

Current mood:	content
Entry tags:	prompt, prompt #24

Prompt #24 - Snow
Prompt #24 Write a prompt based around the theme of snow.

I was very used to snow at home. I knew that snow could be dangerous; if you weren’t careful it could lead you to all kinds of danger. I found that out to my cost one winter when I fell into a converted mineshaft designed as a bear trap. The Inuit have many words to describe snow, its colour, its texture, its consistency. By knowing the precise nature of snow they know what sort is good for building, which is good for camping, which is likely to conceal danger.

Snowstorms were another danger back home. Blizzards could be long and harsh. If you were caught out in one you could suffer hypothermia or worse. Losing your bearings could be fatal; all you would be able to see is a blanket of white. There were a few times I was sent out to find some unfortunate person who had been lost and whose body we would find in a snowdrift, frozen into the exact position they had been in when they died. It was eerie.

In Chicago snow is so different. Snow isn’t treated as life or death substance but as a nuisance, an annoyance. Of course in Chicago man has ways to deal with the snow. The heat of the city means it doesn’t stay as long as it does in the north. There isn’t the same variety either. There are few different types of snow but the wind doesn’t cause it to pile up in snowdrifts in Chicago and there is a certain powdery element that seems to be missing.

Despite this snow in Chicago is a welcome reminder of home. It takes on a friendlier quality to the snow at home, I know that sounds silly but it does. It acts a reminder of home even among the buildings of Chicago. Ray calls it a visit from Canada and I appreciate that sentiment. Sometimes I could stand for hours at the window watching the snow fall, it’s hypnotic. Ray often stands with me and we watch the snow fall together. I know then that I am home. The snow is just a gentle reminder. I am reminded of walking through the snow at home, of my first meeting with Ray when the snow was crisp and sparkling in the sun. Many memories, many thoughts of home all of because of snow. I am very grateful they have snow in Chicago. I am very grateful Ray is in Chicago to watch the snow fall with me.