Some Blue December

Ahhh, snow!

Who doesn't love snow? And no, I'm not talking about the two-day-old slushy, sludgy stuff that accumulates in giant piles on the sides of the road, rife with bits of debris and black chunks and spotted with dog piss.

I speak of that lovely first night, where the snow begins swirling down from the heavens and coats the city in a sparkling, untouched blanket of white. This happened to Brooklyn on Saturday night, and what a night it was.

We might have gotten about a foot of snow in some places. I'd never seen such a snowfall in New York before, and I'm prepared to admit how woefully ill-equipped I am for it. I own one pair of "snow boots" - I use the term loosely, because these boots are six-year-old Uggs. They're hideous. So I don't mind getting them covered in salt stains and mud. Also, they're not very warm and tend to get wet pretty easily, but we'll overlook these little flaws.

I'm doing a bit better in the coat department since last January, thanks in part to Brooklyn Industries, which makes very warm and serviceable coats. So, armed with a pair of warm mittens and well-padded in one of these calf-length coats, I headed out into the blizzard with my good friends.

I call it a blizzard with zero hesitation. Snow whipped down at us from all directions, making it impossible to see much more than white static. Of course, we directed our slippery steps toward the bar - surely some sort of whiskey or liquor drink could lend comfort to our shivering bodies.

Lo and behold, we all eventually found our beer jackets at a little dive bar called Matchless. We trooped back into the maelstrom around 3:00 am, giddily hopping about in the snow like little kids (which involves pitching oneself headfirst into giant drifts, chucking snowballs at any and all moving targets, and falling down in the middle of the street laughing because your friend Gary decided to purchase a watermelon and a coconut for God knows what reason).

I would love to post a picture of the snowfall, but the next day found the aforementioned gray slush clogging the streets. None of the magic of the previous night existed; the snow had already begun to melt.

Sigh.

Yet it's only December, and there's sure to be more snow in store for us this winter. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.