People from other parts of the country
ask, “Is it really as bad as it seems, on TV and in the news?” Well, yes and
no. Driving home from work the other day, it occurred to me. We have all been
going about, trying to live our normal day-to-day lives, yet when you look
around, all you can see are these mountainous snow banks. It’s like living in
the polar bear exhibit at the zoo.
And, secretly, personally, and very
quietly, I have been relishing it. Every single snowflake dancing down from the
sky. Or flying sideways past out windows. There is just something about a snowy
day, and a world cloaked in a blanket of heavenly snow that is just perfect for
writing. It’s how I wrote my first book, the winter of 1993-1994, which had
been the second snowiest winter on record, but has since been bumped to number
three by this winter. I fondly recall retiring to my desk, cup of tea in hand,
to write, pencil on paper.
When I met with the Publishing Guy, he
was surprised when I said that I’d been filling notebooks, i.e., writing by
hand, old-fashioned style, instead of just typing things up on the computer. He
asked me, “What if you need to move a paragraph?” Answer: “I draw an arrow.” I
just need to see it all in front of me, where I can flip back and forth, and see
all the pages of text all at the same time. There is a physical presence to it.
I can touch it, feel it, see it, the whole thing.
As an aside, the only other writer he
knew of who still wrote his works by hand was Malachy McCourt (A Monk Swimming). Interestingly, enough,
Malachy is also known for playing Father Clarence in the soap opera All My Children (which I will also
confess to having watched enough to know the characters and some of the story
lines), and was also one of the founding members of the Manhattan Rugby
Football Club in 1960. Small rugby world!
Of course, once I have everything
written down, I’ll need to type it all up. I hate to tell everyone this, but
the last time I typed up a book from handwritten text was – you guessed it –
the winter of 1995-1996. Yes, the winter that previously held the record for
the most snowfall. So, I might need another snowy winter to type things up. Or,
maybe I can type in all kinds of weather.
Since the beginning of all this snow,
here is a recap of what has been going on, aside from my quiet pencil
scratching in my own personal snow globe.
Snowshoeing! In case you missed the
tweets:
One would never know
There was all this snowUnderneath
My snowshoed feet!
As it turns out, I lost my left glove
that very same day. But found it the next morning.
Ode to My Left GloveMy left glove
Left me
For the ground
Set free
But what is lost
Can be found
My left glove
Came back to me!
We made minestrone, lasagna, gnocchi,
and chicken with our neighbor.
Congratulations to all the girls who
competed in the Illinois High School Association Bowling Championship state championship
tournament, and especially to the Waubonsie Valley Girls Bowling Team, for
placing third at state. Woo-hoo! And, love the inspirational video by WTVT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQxU2fXPLYs
Equally amazing, the New England
Patriots won the Super Bowl, just squeaking past the Seattle Seahawks in the
final minutes of the game. I saw the play where Malcolm Butler intercepted the
pass (I was on my knees, my nose inches from the screen), but I still couldn’t
comprehend what had happened. Seattle had thrown a ball towards the end zone, someone
caught it, but the Patriots seemed to be happy and celebrating. Mike Lynch,
WCVB, said it first on the air – “Butler did it” – and it was just a tiny leap
to turn that into “The Butler Did It!” Congrats to the entire 2014-2015
Patriots team, Coach Bill Belichick, and Robert Kraft.
CNN marked International Women’s Day by
recognizing seven women who changed the world, and included Billie Jean King on
the list.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/02/world/7-women-who-changed-the-world/
On the down side, there were the vile/criminal tweets about Curt Schilling’s daughter. Unbelievable. Unconscionable. And the trials of the Marathon bomber and Aaron Hernandez are in progress. No public apologies appear to be forthcoming there.
Lastly, a follow up to the previous
post about women, STEM, and confidence. A recent Today article cites a study that showed the decline in girls’
interest in math and science can be traced to elementary school classes where
teachers – unknowingly, unwittingly – displayed an unintentional bias in
calling on boys more frequently than girls, and the impact could be traced
through the students’ high school years. This simply underscores again the
surprising influence of our subconscious minds, and the importance of bringing
the subconscious into the light of the conscious for deliberate examination.
That is the very first step, to think about things that may otherwise go
without saying – or thinking.
We can try to change things in the corporate
world of work, but we will be fighting an uphill battle. It’s too far downstream.
The changes really happen in middle school. That’s where we need to make a difference.
So - Don’t forget to Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work this year on April 23rd! http://www.daughtersandsonstowork.org/
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Happy Spring!
Post
Script
It has been a long, cold, snowy
winter, with many a good snowy day for writing. Spring is around the corner,
but it’s still a sad time of year trying to find a good, ripe tomato with
flavor. Local grown tomatoes are months away. We are still reveling in our
habanero pepper jelly, a Christmas gift, made from last summer’s harvest from a
friend’s garden. It won’t be long before we can pull out the Adirondack chairs
and fire up the grill again and visit with our neighbors, as we all emerge from
our winter hibernation. And, our boys of summer (and sometimes fall) are down
in Florida, as Fenway thaws out and awaits their arrival.
The sound of snowflakes gently falling
is being replaced by the omnipresent sound of melting and dripping, which is also
very soothing. There is nothing like a rainy day for writing. Or reading. Once
I finish Robert Pozen’s Extreme
Productivity, I have my next two books lined up: Jenny Nordberg’s The Underground Girls of Kabul, and Pete
Rose’s autobiography (My Prison Without
Bars), which I also brought back from Vegas (had the chance to meet Pete briefly
and exchange books with him there).
Royal, a new restaurant in Watertown, by
Chef Rachid Kourda, had its grand opening recently, and they are now open for
business, Tuesday through Sunday, for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. We
are looking forward to trying it out!
http://www.royalwatertown.com/#new-page
Coming
Next
I don’t know yet, maybe the rugby vs.
football thing, maybe something about Easter, or maybe another one of my Dad’s letters.
References
Carroll, Linda. 2015. Teacher bias may
help discourage girls from math, study finds. Today. March 9, 2015. http://www.today.com/parents/teacher-bias-may-help-discourage-girls-math-study-finds-2D80538787
McKenzie, Sheena. 2015. Seven women
who changed the world. CNN. March 2,
2015.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/02/world/7-women-who-changed-the-world/
©
2015 Rosemary A. Schmidt
Rose
Schmidt is the author of “Go Forward, Support! The Rugby of Life.” Use of
individual quotes with proper citation and attribution, within the limits of
fair use, is permitted. If you would like to request permission to use or
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