The Cold Marble

It is snowy in this small valley. I took Max out at 3 a.m. because it was warm then. It is snowing now, and supposed to get much colder. The unicorn meat eating cats have decided that it is a nap day. Their taste, as always, is exquisite. I will have to get some window seats for them. Or window-height stools.

I have 2 quilts and an afghan piled on a chair against the wall. At my time of life, I keep the apartment cool, quite cool, and cover up. I love this time of year. Something is blooming, my allergies are kicking up, and the snow falls to fertilize the ground. The trees are grateful, and their branches hang like clouds about their faces.

The dog, Max, sleeps under the star quilt, my favorite, that covers my legs as well. He never sleeps well with the light in his eyes. The man who loves me, does not like the cold, nor do a few of my guests. But most of my friends are, of course, women of my own age. They love the cool as much as I do. It's refreshing in a way that springtime is.

I will have to adjust, in time, to the heat that will come. I haven't lived without air conditioning since 1976. It is not going to be pretty. I see a window unit, in my future, at least to sleep in.

I will never forget the first night in the Old House. We had worked a 12 hour day, moving. I came home to see which bedroom was picked for me. My brother and I hadn't worked that out between us, so I had left it to my parents to decide. They gave me the large room downstairs, and had set my childhood bed up. It was a cream-colored, painted wood, with intricate scrollwork decked out in gold paint. My Mother had turned the air on, very cool. I settled into the bed with a sigh that let out all the pent up energy that had accumulated since birth.

I had never slept in air conditioning before. I remember very clearly now, the sense of heat that left me. I felt as if I could conquer the world. Such, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the place of technology in our lives. Think of how many wars would be avoided if the world could sleep in air conditioning. Mars would be colonized by now. Warp drive would be a reality. Paradise is air conditioned.

I fell asleep that night, with the same feeling that I had when I had a fever, and Mom laid a cold bath cloth on my forehead. I awoke the next morning, young.

But for now, it snows past the window in front of the Christmas tree. Max sleeps.