©2010 Chicago Tribune/Alex Garcia
For several years, I worked in Southern California where snow was pretty much a matter of choice. If you wanted that experience, you could head to the mountains. If not, you could stay at the beach. By most measures, pretty nice (ok Facebook friends, you can stop reminding me:-) ) . But there is a benefit of life interrupted by snow. For one, both its beauty and difficulty bring perfect strangers together on a regular basis by providing an easy way to initiate conversation – e.g. “what a day, huh?”. But the more unexpected and lovely is when you find yourself in a “found time” moment when you are allowed to simply watch a gentle snowfall. With the slow rocking of a train as it moves its way down the rails, the entrancing effect is heightened. I watched a person in the next car over as they engaged in such a moment, wondering if their experience was peaceful as well…