SNOW BALL FIGHT!

I tell you what, it snows and I just turn into this five year-old kid again. Some would prabably say that's a step in the right direction from the way I usually act like a two-year-old.

I came back from Philly around noon after having seen "Nerds" last night. They play was good by the way, very funny with its writting being done by the writters of Robot Chicken on Adult Swim. It was about the rise of Microsoft and Apple and how this group of nerds from a garrage-based inventing group grew up with the high speed growth of the personal computer era. It was a really good time.

Afterwhich we went to Tequila, which was an interesting restaurant. The lobby had murals all over depicting skeletons dressed in nice Victorian era clothing from the Mexican aristocracy. The paintings were meant to symbolize the greed and ruthlessness of the Mexican dictators of the late 1800's and the nobility that thrived off the oppression of the poor. It was interesting how the lobby depicted this righteous condemnation of tyranny and the inside of the restaurant, which was by the way owned and staffed by Mexicans, was elaborately guilded and displayed ornate wood trims on the ceiling and collumns dressed in fabric. The whole impression was a representation of romanesque life for first class citizens of 19th Century Mexico. I thought the ironies of the play "Nerds" equally present, yet translated to, this restaurant in which the wealthy were dining and if only they had the time or concern to seek it out they would have asked about the meaning of all the murals... and then wondered about the message of this place. I took it to mean that the restaurant owners and staff were directly calling to account the patrons to recognize their rights as people even though they are not as privilaged.

So... the snow fight! I got home from Union Station and it was already snowing from an hour before all the way down from Philly. The flakes were big, and were falling fast. There was no wind, it wasn't even really very cold. Thirty degrees is fine when your wearing long pants, sleeves, coat and gloves. Its the wind that makes it cold. No, it was very nice and peaceful, and the snow was already several inches deep. It made this wonderful crunching sound... imagine taking a styrofoam cup and cutting it laterally to make rings out of it. Now place them in between layers of cardboard. If you were to walk on that it would give you a good idea of what walking on snow sounds like. What it feels like is something different... like walking in tall Florida grass... when you are not really sure there is a ground under the grass... but just this grassiness that fades into earth somewhere you are not quite sure. Thats something of what walking on snow feel like.

After stopping to enjoy the snow a few times and taking some pictures I got back to the ASP dorms and met Dan and Kevin in the library just off the main entrance hallway. I threw my things down and sat with them for a while. Then, realizing I was hungry went down to the corner 7-11 to get a pizza. On the way back I threw snow balls at the library window to intice Kevin to come outside. He did not, but the girls on the second floor taunted from their living room window and I bombarded them with snow. SNOW IS SO MUCH FUN! After going back in I decided to make a snow man. Got a snow shovel (I actually had to think for a second what they are called) and pilled the base of the snow man up in a few minutes. Then I went down to our alley and rolled up the mid section. It really is easy when the snow is a certain way. When its almost like cotton-powder it rolls up very easy, grabbing all the snow as it compacts with every turn. Picked up this beach-ball-sized snow man stomach and walked it over to the base. Then I rolled a smaller head, and placed it on top. In all it took maybe 15 minutes.

People were walking bby while I was doing this. This is also not a very friendly neighborhood, in fact I would say DC has a pretty bad case of depression or sense of defeat. I dont know exactly what it is. I mean I can understand the how and why they have these feelings you can read on their faces, but specifically I don't know the city's history to explain why certain groups are the way they are. But even the people you would think might have a better outlook on life, do not. There is a great void here where Hope should sit. But I was in such a good mood with my snow man progress and the still falling snow that I was smiling at all the people walking by and they could see that I was genuinely having a good time. All 6ft 6 inches and 24 years of me - out there alone acting like a kid. One lady walked by and happily exclaimed to herself "He's making a snow man." Which made me happy. I got the impression (and it makes sense given the nature of people in this city) that no one had made a snow man in a long time in this area. I mean if you think about it, parents around here are adults like every other cynical workaholic, and wont stay outside with their kids long enough to make a snow man and get all wet from the snow. Sickness, cold, wetness, time, dog-walking, dinner-cooking, etc. all play into these kids not getting to build snow men. Even if they do they dont amount to much because you need mom or dad to help make the really big ones. So I wanted to make a really tall one, and I did, about 4 feet tall, much taller than the fence and bushes and I think it will make people who walk by happy. There is a small amount of joy, hopefully a lot that flows from that snow man, because I hope people will know how much fun went into making it.

And then as soon as I was done with the snow man people came out to see and then the snow ball fights began and there were a dozen college age students screaming and running around the sidewalk, throwing snow balls from the second story balcony, the sidewalk and the fourth floor roof. All at war with each other, and against their team mates. All free shots that were open were had, and snow rained down from the roof, sometimes in HUGE mounds that had been collected in small trash cans that made enormous thuds then they crashed into the sidewalk.

It was a rather fun day, and I am sad you poor Floridians missed it.