snow

Getting Your Money’s Worth at Whole Foods

Alex Garcia Leave a Comment
©2010 Chicago Tribune/Alex Garcia

Who knew that a Whole Foods grocery bag could function as a sled?  I was with my kids when we passed by a snowhill that triggered the phenomenon known as “scream-at-Dad-until-he-caves”.  We didn’t have a sled in the van, so I went hunting for a cardboard box. Of course, you can never find a floppy cardboard box when you really need one, so I looked at the bags in our cargo area and thought “hmmm..” The experience of all of us happily walking up a snowhill with grocery bags was priceless. My kids were too young to care what people thought, and I enjoyed the free ride.

Of Snow and Horses

Alex Garcia 3 Comments
Winter-Horses.jpg©2009 Alex Garcia

I am off the first three days this week, so my vacation days have coincided with the first serious snowfall of the season. That means I can more easily take an enchanted view of the snow. I don’t have to worry about getting that perfect shot of the miserable commuting experience shared by hundreds of thousands.  I can focus on the bucolic scene and horses from the first snowfall of last winter, coming back from western Illinois where our parents live.  The memory of this scene has truly helped me past the snowdrifts of negativity while driving in traffic around the city.  I have heard it said that people seem to be wired for biophilia, or “love of nature”, and that people’s most peaceful memories are usually outside in nature. I would agree… It’s hard for me to stay upset at snow when I’m embracing a snow scene in my mind’s eye…