This week's guest artist is Old Man Winter. His work is dominated by the cooler
colors of the palette, and he relies heavily on white, which he often applies with broad,
heavy brushstrokes. Sometimes the surprise exhibitions of his impressive talents can
be a bit too much to take in, all at once. His landscapes can often be sparkling and
beautiful, but they can also sometimes be stark and unforgiving.
A couple of mornings ago, I looked out the window to discover a scene which
resembled the winter landscapes from David Lean's well known film of Dr. Zhivago.
Tons of heavy, wet snow had blanketed our area during the night. My front hedge
was nearly flattened, the evergreens were mounds of white, and the birch tree was
pulled down nearly to the ground, by the weight of the snow. I am still in the process
of digging out.
I was fortunate that I did not lose power; many others were not so lucky. The
utility linemen are still working to restore power and heat to the thousands of homes
which were trapped in the icy cold. Fortunately for those families, the linemen
seem to have been making good progress, because in the coming days ahead,
the daytime time temperatures here, will be in the single digits, and our nights will
drop well below zero.
All of this is a reminder of the many thousands of people who are trapped in
the grip of Old Man Winter, without any relief in sight. Vladimir Putin continues
to pound the civilians of Ukraine mercilessly, with hundreds of missiles and drones,
killing people and destroying their homes, as he uses winter as an aid, to try
and bend the Ukrainians to his will. And at the same time in Gaza, the innocent
thousands of Palestinians, who are paying the price for the crimes of others, are
huddled shivering in makeshift shelters and tents, wondering if the next bomb to
strike will be the one that gets them.
Somehow, it is difficult to see the beauty in a fresh snowfall, when we know
that the winter is an added torture and painful burden, for so many people who
are less fortunate than ourselves. The year 2024 is not starting out well. Let's
hope it ends better than it is starting.
Eugene P. McNerney
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