White Christmas, starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye,
warms the hearts of all who watch annual Christmas specials. Sitting on their
favorite easy chair in their cozy living room, they can romanticize all they
want. But do they really crave a
white Christmas? Or are their White Christmas dreams just a fantasy?
Old timers are often called snow birds, not because they
fly north to enjoy a White Christmas, but because they head south for warmer conditions.
Arthritic joints like it hot, while unstable old legs seek less slippery sidewalks.
They look for a holiday where they can take a walk in the park without wearing heavy
coats or boots.
If you had spent your first 20 years of life above
40 degrees of latitude, you might have a gentle view of snow. Munich, my
hometown, is above the 48th parallel. That translates into seasons that
include a healthy sprinkling of snow in winter. Most people know the downside
of winter, i.e. avalanches, white-outs, ice storms, black ice, and icicles—big ones
that kill. There are power outages, and falling trees and power lines, not to
mention frostbite. Even I can remember walking home in the snow with my toes
nearly falling off and then bracing for the bite of them warming up painfully. Those
who have grown up in snowy conditions know to dress, how to stay indoors, and how
to rev up the generator. They’ve learned to survive in conditions fit for an Eskimo. A wintry trip to Wisconsin renewed memories:
Soft sheets furrowed white
Diamond sparkles in light.
Sugar coated red pines
Iced branches and lines
Snow-angels, snowballs
Ice skating and fun falls
