Today is another lovely day. It is also another cold day. I still have a walkway covered in snow, but my car is clear. I’m glad for that as I do have an errand.

The cold breaks tomorrow. We’ll be in the 40’s. In comparison, it will feel like summer. I’ll sweep the walk later today so the sun can melt the walk clear.

I have been home for what seems like forever. I don’t see people so I talk to the dogs to maintain my communication skills. I want to be Doctor Doolittle so I can carry on a conversation in dog.

I don’t remember feeling cold when I was a kid as I was bundled with several layers, and I had my mother. She helped. She’d reach up my coat sleeve to pull down my sweater. She yanked and pulled my boots over my shoes, not an easy task. The mittens were last. She’d put them on my hands and tuck the tops in my jacket sleeve. I was prepared for a new Ice Age.

When I was a kid, I had to walk by a huge field on my way to school. When it was snow covered, the field was like the tundra, a vast expanse. The wind whipped across that field. I’d sometimes walk backwards to keep the wind chill from my face. I’d open my arms. They were like sails.

In Ghana, the seasons were the rainy season and the dry season. I lived in the hottest part of the country with the shortest rainy season. During the dry season, I remember watching the fires in the fields burning the detritus, the left over debris from the crops, from mostly millet and corn. The air was filed with smoke. I could see the line of fire moving across the fields. Even the field behind my house was burned.

My eleven year old self would be amazed and thrilled at where I have been. That was how old I was when I vowed to travel the world. Ghana was my first country. I was going to Africa. I was going to live in Africa. That still amazes me.

This entry was posted on January 22, 2024 at 2:36 pm and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.