Iciest Wrath and a Dismal Day of Pennsylvania

A fallen tree in my neighborhood

In my room, pots are for collecting the leaking water from ceiling

The last snow storm dumped more than a foot of snow across Midwest and East Coast of the United States on Tuesday. Then, on Wednesday, thick coating of ice covered all over the place. Early in the morning, I woke up with the sound of drops of water falling on my pillow. I cast a fleeting look at the ceiling, it was leaking and from its corner the water was pouring down. I collected pots and pans from my kitchen to prevent further damage to the floor. Then, I tried to call my landlord, my phone was dead, and there was no power to charge my phone.

I rushed out of the house to get access to power and charge my phone. At the door, not knowing that ice has covered the stairs and the patio, I made a nice slide, but thankfully fell on the snow; otherwise, I might have broken a limb, like many trees that lost their limbs. As I hit the sidewalk, limbs of trees were lying on sidewalks, roads, and backyards of people; I hardly made my way through them. Just around the corner, a huge pine tree was left prostrate as a result of heavy snow on its branches. I took it metaphorically very meaningful: You do not get big, if you do, your fall will be disastrous, just like the demise of empires.

So, finally, after cruising around the blocks to circumvent stepping on torn electric wires and fallen trees, I arrived at the Starbucks. At the door, the sign said: “Due to power outage, we are closed.” Suddenly, a second thought rushed through my head: Why not taking the bus and spend the day at Barns and Noble. In the bus, a woman was sitting in front of me; tears were rushing down her face. Her house was damaged by a fallen tree. I plaintively sympathized with her, to the point that I almost lied that a huge tree has fallen on my house as well and my life is ruined. I took a somber mood and showed it through a doleful look on my face. At one point I almost wanted to take her hands in my hands to calm her. She got off the bus in mid-way, but her sorrow left a tristful feeling in me for the rest of the day, even to this moment.

Anyhow, the Barns & Noble was closed, they didn’t have power either. I spent the whole afternoon at the Giant Store’s café.

What a dismal day I had and probably thousands of others were in a similar situation. This experience reminded me of my village, where electricity, and internet were not involved in our lives and we did not face this much unexpected hassle.

Under the Frozen Tears of God

Today, I took my bike out to ride around the block for fun, slipped twice and fell off on the street, made people laugh and it was all entertaining and enjoyable.

It feels great to bike in a foot of snow, but be careful if you're going to do it, you need to lower the seat, just enough to control your balance. You also need to have mud or studded tires to prevent slide.

Heaps of snow is going to blanket the entire East Coast of the United States tonight. It has been snowing since Tuesday morning with a slightly frigid chill that is sweeping across the Northeast. Tomorrow, a bitter cold is expected to follow after the sky satiates itself from shedding its frozen tears on to earth.

Today, I was feeling nostalgic for those snowy days in the most far-flog village in the central Afghanistan. The snow storm of today reminded me the heavy snow fall - up to 3 and sometimes 4 feet snow - in my village. I recall the winters in which sometimes the slow and steady snow lasted five days. I recall the winter that as a result of a heavy snow a barn was collapsed in the village. In one morning, when I walked out of the house, my elder brother asked me to stand at the edge of snow wall, the snow was higher than my height. I was 11 years old.

The flat and little houses of villagers were enveloped with snow and roads were completely blocked. We used to spend almost three days removing the snow from the roofs, paths, barns and backyards. Then, the fourth day, the whole community were getting together for a mass clearing of the snow from long paths leading to other communities. For almost 3 months, the communities in the entire district were going into hibernation.

In this way, life was simple and warm. It was easy to believe anything that was told us and we never knew what the fact was and what fiction was. Everything was new and fascinating to us. Old mythical stories always amused and amazed us, especially, when we listened to some of them with absolute horror. The fairies, ghosts, and deads becoming alive, were the stories that bewitched our little souls and captivated our memories with imagery fears and attractions.

It is those days’ memories that cling to me, every once in a while. It is those endless reminiscences that fascinate every moment of my life, today. It is those stories, and nostalgia that wistfully hint a river of melancholy mood in me, in the dismal winter of Pennsylvania.