Once again, the morning sky begins with an orange glow on the horizon, gradually turning blue, as the sun rises, the lake shimmering in the intense sunlight. How unusual for this time of the year as I mentioned yesterday. It must be global warming! It is warmer today, 28 degrees when I got up, much warmer than yesterday's 12 degrees. The lake looks like a rippled sheet of ice, no longer snow covered, though this may be inaccurate because of the sun's glare. I will have to wait till we get out on the lake to see if there is still a crust of snow on top or if it's now all ice. If it is, we won't be able to ski, perhaps skate, though. I just finished a book Wally and I both liked back in the 1980's, HOSTAGES TO FORTUNE, by William Humphrey. It's the story of a father who tries to understand the suicide of his 18 year old son, mostly told in flashbacks. It's an intense, often difficult to read book, though I liked it enough to read a second time. I wonder about the motivation, as he does refer to the rising rate of suicides among teens, as a real problem. And it's about the deepest, most penetrating book I've read which tries to understand why someone commits suicide. I was a bit bored towards the end, but his analysis of the mind not only of the son but of the victims (those who are left alive to wonder what they have done wrong), including the father, mother, and girl friend is convincing and upsetting. The final verdict: we will never know. Not much sustenance in that. It was a relief to jump into another Jack Reacher novel, easy to read, familiar, with none of the intensity and meditative quality of Humphrey. I am also reading New York Times columinist Gail Collins non fiction best seller,WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED , a history/analysis of the rise of women from the 60's to the present. It's become required reading at some colleges, and I find it fascinating, because it begins with the roles women played just as I was leaving high school, so much of it is very familiar. I highly recommend it, especially reading it in apieces, as I have been doing. One easily forgets how limiting the options were for women back then, how their lives were defined and circumscribed by men. You've come a long way, baby.
I shot hoops at the gym with Ron, worked out for a bit, ordered a new dock piece, stopped at the Lighthouse and bought our favorite, ground lamb patties, as well as one of their hoagies, a luxury, I know, and came home for lunch. Evie's out cross country skiing and will go to the gym later. Ron wanted me to shoot around so I decided to go earlier. The blue sky early has given way to Chautauqua gray, it's normal color and it's practical 40 degrees outside. Our road here at Woodlawn is one sheet of ice; it's like driving on a skating rink. You cannot stop...you just slide until your momentum gives out. The main roads, however, are fine.
Just got back from a short ski trip on the lake; when I went out, the sun was out but by the time I got out on the lake, it clouded over so I got to ski in Chautauqua gray. The snow was set, not quite slush, so it was easy enough to ski, though I left wet rows as I skied and where the snow mobiles had been, it was ice or melting ice because of the temperature, 45 degrees. Still, it was good to be out on the lake, to see how the houses, all covered with snow, in some cases more than a foot or two had piled up on porches, giving them the look of white frosted ginger bread houses.
We are off to the VFW with Ron and Linda for our cheap date of wings and sweet potato fries. The beers cheap, so are the wings and fries, both are good, and the company is fine, mostly vets sitting at the bar, drinking beer, an occasionally a couple or two, rarely if ever kids or a family.
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