Life in the Northeast of the USA

When my brothers and sisters and I were younger, my parents would take us out to Walden Pond for the annual “scavenger hunt” during February vacation to alleviate cabin fever. This hunt mainly involved the six of us scrambling to find items such as a stick shaped like a letter, a piece of string, something red, and various other objects unusual to the woods (of which there were plenty, thanks to the summer tourists and suburban sunbathers... I think Thoreau must cry little Transcendental tears each summer when they swarm to the sandy shores)

But anyways, I think I may be in need of a scavenger hunt or something. My brain knows spring is coming… if only because it has been winter for many months and the calendar says 2 April. But if that is the case, then why oh why does everything maintain that same washed out grayish brown overtone? There is no snow anymore; there is no crisp blue sky, just beige.

Things that are beige: dead leaves, dirt, bricks, sidewalk, chain link fence, tree bark, even clouds…

I once read a book that was set near Buffalo, NY where the people became so visually deprived during the winter that they would stare at the traffic light as it cycled through: green, amber, red; green, amber, red… Good thing the current assignment for Traffic Control Systems involves the observation and analysis of cycle lengths for seven intersections near campus. Heh heh.

Seriously though, I miss color. I miss contrast.

Things that I miss (in addition to color and contrast): dark thunderstorms, sandals, humidity, dried grass smell, rotting garbage, street vendors, and crickets. Especially crickets.