Article Contributed on: 12/20/2006 12:59:28 PM
Yes, we did open Miss Prothero's Books today. Because I live in Capitol Hill, it was no big deal. It's a nice walk, even when the wind is blowing and the snow gods are dumping inches of white stuff on your head. My husband, who was scheduled for a day off, joked about the mayor and the city streets. "Let me know if you see Hick on a scooter driving a plow," he said as I walked out the door. He and I both know how a natural disaster can ruin a politician's career. The Blizzard of 1982 effectively ended the reign of Mayor Bill McNichols. Mayor Webb took heat from the snows of 2003. From what I've seen of the roads and the traffic so far, it looks like maybe Mayor Hickenlooper will weather the weather of 2006.
This storm does remind of my favorite Christmas story, Dylan Thomas's
A Child's Christmas in Wales. There's lots of lovely language throughout. Near the beginning of the book, Thomas writes, "I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights when I was twelve or whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I was six." Thomas "plunge[s] his hands in the snow" and brings out memories of polar cats, Protheros, and postman with "wind-cherried noses".
I wonder how I will remember this storm. Maybe not with such fondness. I have already shoveled the walk twice, and it looks as if I've done nothing. 7-Eleven across the street is doing a brisk business. Maybe Miss Prothero's should start selling gas and food along with books. Hmmm...That doesn't sound like a great idea to me. Ah, heck. I think it's time to close shop. At least for today. Stay warm. Merry Christmas.