I live downtown. I love the noise and the bustle: the horns, and the flurry of people and the rumble of the traffic, and the clouds of steam coming from sidewalk grates. I love the glimpses of blue sky in between tall towers - or even better, the reflection of clouds in the windows of skyscrapers. I love the concrete jungle. I love it because I never feel alone, I never feel alienated, I always feel like I'm at the heart of things. I've never wanted to be the center of attention, but I've always wanted to be at the center.
I woke up this morning, and the first thing I heard was the weather report. It had been snowing all night, and everyone was whining about the state of the roads. I love that feeling when you are cozy in your bed, kitten curled up in the crook of your arm, and you can see outside the soft falling snow. I always sleep with my curtains drawn: 1) I like to wake up to natural light when I can, 2) the way my windows face, no one really can see in, 3) I like to contemplate the weather before I get out of bed. So I contemplated the snow for a moment, and then I was roused from my warm cocoon by the smell of freshly brewing coffee. (New coffee pot...auto shut off (yeah, I'm not going to burn the house down by forgetting to turn it off)...and delayed brew (I love to wake up to fresh coffee))....
I take the train to school...so the condition of the roads and the disaster of traffic concerned me not. I sliced myself the last of the banana bread, poured my coffee into my spill proof travel tumbler, and headed out into the snow.
I've commented on the silence of snow before, I think. I love to take a walk in the falling, or newly falling snow because it's so peaceful. The world seems muted, clean, calm, quiet. But I've usually considered this in the context of walks through the forest, or along the sea wall - things of that nature. This morning when I walked outside of my building, I was treated to the same effects on the city. No hustle, no horns, no traffic rumbling - just quiet, slow, muted whiteness. No concrete jungle, just drifts of white. It was slow...it was peaceful. I'm sure by the time I go home this afternoon it will be all gone and as I said before, I do love it...but for a moment it was another world...a snowy world...a quiet world...a lovely world.
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5 comments:
crisp-crunch crisp-crunch? or
schloff-schloff schloff-schloff?
i love waking up to snow outside... wait, i'm inside, the snow's outside and i'm awakening...
That's one of my favorite times in the city too, when everything looks clean and white, is quiet, branches glistening with rimefrost (one word? too lazy to look it up.)
And that is also true about feeling part of a city. You are never alone. But at the same time, some of the times I've been loneliest is when I'm surrounded by people. In a city where everyone's going somewhere, doing something, it's easy to feel alienated. Think China.
Crisp-crunch...without a doubt
Hmmm...I see your point, Eve. But China was different. I think the alienation came largely from the communication barriers.
and smelling to them like milk.
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