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December 13, 2008
Magical Snow
Something just has to be said about such an event as snow falling in Houston. After a few days in the 80 degree range, a cold front blew in with one of those dreary days… soggy wet and windy, but still muggy - warm. By late afternoon it happened… cooler air became very cold air, and we were in the low 30’s by nightfall.
Without saying too much more and being mistaken for a weather report, I just had to post these photos of the few short hours of soft snow over our area… not too common an event, to say the least. It seemed so timely as this is the month of December, a month that brings to mind winter visions of the holidays. In this area of the world, traditional winter visions are not a familiarity… its’ more like heavier road traffic with some Christmas decorations here and there, like the occasional drunk looking balloon santa in someone’s lawn, keeled over from lack of warm air.
Our snow probably wasn’t even an inch. It collected on rooftops, cars and plants, but the ground was obviously still too warm for any white blanket. In all, it was still a magical moment. My significant other said I should step outside and let it fall on me… and then to breathe in the smell of snow. It definitely quieted the city noises that are often so prevalent just outside of our neighborhood. For this brief moment, it was very soothing.
Perhaps snow is only magical when you aren’t living with multiple inches of it everyday, but in our neck of the woods, it seemed otherworldly. Like in the movies, whenever it snows, the mystical seems to happen. For instance, in “Family Man”, all the profound changes happened to Nicolas Cage right at that moment when snow began to fall. You just knew it was a turning point, and near the end of the movie, his character knew it too.
“Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason”, the second of two delightful films about this most entertaining character played by Renee Zellweger, has referenced snow as making for very special, romantic circumstances, and in the end of the film she walks away with her compliant lover to be happy ever after – snow falling down all around them. I cannot stop watching either of these Bridget Jones movies.... the humor and characterization are intoxicating. My partner is certain I need help!
And, without sounding too repetitive, as I have written about this classic film last Christmas, but “Its’ a Wonderful Life” (still one of my favorites) has multiple scenes with snow being the curtain between reality versus a glimpse of how things might have been if the main character, played by James Stewart, had not been born. Actually, “Family Man” is sort of a different version of this idea, and this kind of theme always captivates my heart... how things might have been if we did not make the decisions we have made in life – the choices we always make to be who we are and do what we want with our lives.
So, snow has become this sort of symbolic jester of something magical, like a real Santa Clause coming down your chimney to give you exactly what you have been hoping for. As it fell down from the dark sky that night, I almost expected music to play from somewhere… heightened by all these conceptions and the mysterious nature of these frozen crystals of water ( no two of which are alike) falling upon our world, like a perfect message from above.
Posted by kay at 10:44 PM | Comments (0)