Amazing wintry landscape of Lofoten, Norway
This blog got initiated to share an eyewitness occurrence during early winter in 2024 as told in the story “Overcoming a Winter Challenge in Old Age”. Another personal winter story and joys of winter were added to round out the post. Winter scenarios vary widely depending on geographical location, offering fun-filled activities, as well as posing many a challenges.
The Joys of Winter
Holiday Season: winter is associated with religious and communal events in many cultures, such as Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s Eve, and many more regional holidays. People engage in celebrations, decorations, and family gatherings during the holidays.
Holiday Travel: schools and many businesses take a break during the holidays season so many people travel during this break to visit family and friends.
Warm Foods: warm winter foods have their own charm. Some of the foods, especially the soups (I am a fanatic about soups), bring a cozy feeling just to think about it. Warm cookies, eggnog and spirits help in overcoming the seasonal affective disorder.
Festivals: winter festivals provide an opportunity to get out of the home to mingle with people, watch and participate in fun-filled activities such as dancing, fire acrobats, sculpting, music, and savoring delicious foods.
Winter Challenges
Winter poses many a challenges that could disrupt routine life at times and hazards that could cause bodily harm. However, due to advancements in weather forecasting technology, safety measures built into the transportation systems, heating technology etc., help tremendously to overcome most of the challenges.
Temperature could drop below freezing leading up to frost and ice buildups.
Snowfall: In many regions, winter brings snowfall. Accumulated snow can cover landscapes, creating a winter wonderland but also posing challenges for transportation and daily activities.
Icy Conditions: cold temperatures can cause the freezing of water on roads, sidewalks, and other surfaces, creating icy conditions. This can be hazardous for walking and driving
Winter Storms: some regions experience severe winter storms, bringing heavy snowfall, freezing rain, and strong winds. These storms can lead to power outages, transportation disruptions, and other challenges.
Reduced Daylight: winter is associated with shorter days and longer nights. This can impact daily routines and mood, leading to phenomena like seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in some individuals.
Winter requires preparation for adverse weather conditions. This includes having snow removal equipment, winter tires, and emergency supplies in case of power outages or other disruptions.
The following story illustrates how a winter challenge can be overcome in old age. The story “Power of Concentration” illustrates how winter can confuse a human being that could lead to physical harm.
Overcoming a Winter Challenge in Old Age
On my way back from jogging/walking route, I traverse on one of the neighborhood streets, let’s call it S street that runs east/west and melds onto R street running north/south. On the corner of these two streets, there is a nice home. This home’s front faces R street and the garage faces S street. An elderly gentleman lives in that home, who is likely about Joe Biden’s age and similar to his physique, so, we will call him Joe in this story. Our friend Joe is a polished and graceful senior citizen. Occasionally, I exchange pleasantries with him while walking near his home. His posture and strength in this strides indicate that he is in good health. Sometimes, on weekends, I see Joe pulling out his vehicle out of the garage in the afternoon, likely going for lunch. His choice of cars is superb, always keeping the latest model Corvette and a luxury SUV. Obviously when he pulls the vehicle out of garage, he closes the door. In early January 2024, on a Friday night, a severe winter storm dumped about six inches of snow in our neighborhood. You know, when snow sloughing trucks clear the streets, it gets stacked on streets side curbs. Since mailboxes are right at the front and center of curbs, they get fair share of snow stacked around them. Joe has likely contracted to clear his driveway. But on that Saturday after the storm, pathways from his front door and garage to the mailbox were stacked with large amounts of snow. It would have been a big challenge for Joe to walk in those conditions to the mailbox to retrieve mail on foot. The following eyewitness occurrence of overcoming that challenge is the basis of this story and in fact the whole blog.
Mail Retrieving Route After a Snowstorm
Refer to the above picture to follow rest of this story. On that Saturday afternoon, I was walking on west S street, a few feet away from Joe’s home. He pulled out an SUV out of the garage, drove a few feet west on S street and turned right on to north R street, depicted by #1 in the picture leaving the garage door open. I was thinking why he had not closed the door and wondering if he was getting too old, forgetting to perform basic functions such as closing the garage door. He drove his vehicle on to the driveway of second house on left side of R street (#2), pulled back from the driveway and drove on opposite side of the street, stopping at the mailbox to retrieve mail (#3), drove back onto to his garage, and closed the garage door (#4). Now that was a smart move by Joe i.e., he did not take a chance to walk over to the mailbox to avoid slipping and falling, but rather used his vehicle to retrieve the mail. Ever since I came across those maneuvers, I had been thinking about writing about it i.e., how to overcome a winter challenge in old age, and that is how this story came into being. While I had been mulling about the story plot, in the next few days, weather got warmed up, that resulted in melting most of the snow, so that is why you see cleared driveway, and streets in the picture. In the following two to three weeks, I saw Joe walking over to the mailbox, as well as driving out to his lunch endeavors. So, don’t you worry, our friend Joe is alright and alert. May God grant him good health and strength to overcome the challenges of old age.
Mail contents delivered by traditional mail carriers these days are mostly trash (electronic mail is also trash for that matter). I was wondering what the rush was for Joe to retrieve mail in those bad conditions. He could have waited for the snow to ebb away from his path to mailbox over the weekend. So, I came to two logical answers to my question. One: Joe was likely bored and decided to venture out a little bit. You see, he must have taken the time to dress warmly, put on snowshoes and put a snow shovel in the vehicle just in case vehicle was to be stuck in the snow. So, give and take, that’s about 10 minutes of activity on a boring and extremely slow day in the winter. Two; he is likely an old-fashioned senior citizen who does not believe in electronic financial transactions. So, he might be anticipating the delivery of his retirement or Social Security check and wanted to get a hold of it right away. Anyway, Joe’s little jaunt on that day prodded me to write a blog with two personal stories and links to a variety of winter wonders that can be explored and marveled at, at least on a computer if not personally visiting those exotic places.
By the way, the second thought as mentioned above, reminds me of one of my former colleagues who was in mid-fifties when the last time I worked alongside him. He absolutely does not trust electronic financial transactions at all and uses cash or checks all the time. It’s not that he is a FOB (Fresh off the Boat), but he is a third generation American from European descendants. Can you believe a dude raised and lived in American culture, not using credit/debit cards in this day and age? Anyway, world is full of interesting characters.
Dear reader, you may be wondering why I was walking on the streets after a heavy snowstorm. Well, that is a good question, but a long answer that you can read in the blog “A Story About an Interaction with Nature” on atamjitsblog.com.
Share any anecdotes about overcoming old age challenges that I can put in the back pocket because that time is around the corner when other compatriots’ experiences may come in handy for me.
The Power of Concentration
The following anecdote is another real-life experience that was a good lesson learned, funny, dumb, and presented me with an opportunity to write this story.
During one of the winters a few years ago, we had three vehicles in the household. Two of the vehicles got parked in the garage and my vehicle stayed out on the driveway. If a vehicle has to stay on driveway, I bring remote garage door opener inside the home as a security precaution. In early February, frozen rain poured overnight and due to temperature being below freezing point, that rain became a thick layer of ice in the neighborhood. This type of winter storm and icy roads are extremely dangerous to venture out, on foot or driving.
On the day after that storm, there were no leftovers at home for lunch. So, I decided to drive over to a nearby Chipotle to pick up food (well, it can be considered as an excuse to get out of the home due to constricted movement during winter). I was hesitant to drive due to icy conditions. But when I noticed a city snowplow truck clearing the streets, I thought that the streets and main roads must have been cleared by now and that thought encouraged me to drive out to the restaurant. I bundled up with winter clothes and ventured to reach my vehicle. The driveway was like a skating rink with half an inch layer of ice. So, getting to my vehicle from the garage was a big challenge, although it was parked only about ten feet away. I used a snow shovel for support and got to the vehicle without slipping on the ice. The next challenge was to remove ice from the windows. With great precaution, I accomplished that task as well, got into the vehicle, drove over to Chipotle, picked up the food and got back home safely.
Here comes the punch line
I parked my vehicle on the driveway, took out garage door remote control from the jacket pocket, opened the door and held it in my left hand while holding food bag in the right hand. Now again walking from vehicle to the garage was a huge challenge. The driveway is on a little slope from street to the garage, so that adds another factor of challenge to maneuver on the ice.
Again, distance from vehicle to the garage door was only about ten feet, but walking on the ice was a daunting task for me. I was so concentrated that my whole mission in life in those moments was to get to the garage without slipping on the ice. Well, I walked with extreme care without slipping. Because of the driveway incline and as a natural instinct, I was bending forward to maintain the balance. Consciously when I realized that I was at the last step to enter the garage, I must have taken a step forcefully to hurriedly get away from the icy driveway and into the safety of garage, but instead, BAM!!! my forehead struck on to the garage door. I was disoriented for a second, but after the initial shock when my senses came back, I immediately pressed
the remote control to open the door, hurriedly got inside the garage and closed the door. Although, I had a little pain in my banged forehead, however I laughed out aloud at that dumb experience. I hope that no neighbors were standing on their icy driveways to watch that drama. After eating lunch and feeling relaxed from the dumb episode, I reflected as to what happened out there and I have a good explanation. I was so concentrated on that walk on the driveway that my hands must have clenched intuitively, triggering remote control to close the garage door. That concentration did not allow me to see the door coming down and not hear the noise (you can hear garage door noise from some distant). But No sir!
honestly, I saw nothi’n! heard nothi’n! but all I know is that my head got bangin’n. Can you imagine a grown-up and reasonably sane adult, hitting a garage door head on, in daylight? It could be excused during pitch dark at night, but not at daylight. So, all I can say is that phenomenon was the Power of Concentration.
The moral of the story is “don’t hold your garage door remote control in your hand, if you have to walk on an icy driveway.” This phrase has brought a brilliant idea to my mind. I am thinking of selling this story to an Insurance company for a funny commercial (you know insurance company commercials are the funniest of all and they always add saving money in their pitch). The commercial may sound something like “Don’t hold garage door remote control in your hand if you have to walk on an icy driveway. Spending two seconds putting remote control in a pocket can save you from a head on collision and save you money if you have to go to an urgent care facility” Hey, I like this first cut of the commercial. Of course, it will be accompanied by a video. I hope that they can let me act in the video. If I pull it through and the commercial hits the national circuit, that will open a door for me as a second career after retirement. So, that banging of the forehead on garage door could be a blessing in disguise.
The moral of the story is “don’t hold your garage door remote control in your hand, if you have to walk on an icy driveway.” This phrase has brought a brilliant idea to my mind. I am thinking of selling this story to an Insurance company for a funny commercial (you know insurance company commercials are the funniest of all and they always add saving money in their pitch). The commercial may sound something like “Don’t hold garage door remote control in your hand if you have to walk on an icy driveway. Spending two seconds putting remote control in a pocket can save you from a head on collision and save you money if you have to go to an urgent care facility” Hey, I like this first cut of the commercial. Of course, it will be accompanied by a video. I hope that they can let me act in the video. If I pull it through and the commercial hits the national circuit, that will open a door for me as a second career after retirement. So, that banging of the forehead on garage door could be a blessing in disguise.
Ok, enough with winter challenges, now let’s explore some joys of winter.
Winter Festivals
Holiday Lighting Scene in a City Downtown
Centuries ago, winter festivals were initiated to mark the end of harvest season and to celebrate the winter solstice, religious events, and opportunities to engage with fun-filled activities. These festivals often involve a variety of cultural activities, traditions, and rituals. Here’s some prominent winter festivals from around the world:
Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, Chinese New Year, Winter Solstice, Carnivals, and a variety of regional or neighborhood activities.
These festivals provide opportunities for communities to come together, celebrate cultural heritage, and find joy and warmth during the coldest months of the year. In addition to the formal and large festivals, many communities arrange local festivals featuring fire shows and ice carvings, local food and artisan displays. Christmas lighting in the streets and town centers offer impressive spectacles. Many communities hold lighting competition that encourage people to do be creative with their displays resulting in awesome shows in the neighborhoods.
The Attraction of Ice Sculpting Festivals
Ice Sculpting Scenery
Ice sculpting festivals are events that celebrate the artistry and craftsmanship of creating sculptures from blocks of ice. Typically held in colder regions during winter months, these festivals attract both professional ice sculptors and spectators. The festivals often feature competitions where sculptors compete to create intricate and imaginative sculptures within a limited time frame. Spectators can admire the process as sculptors use chainsaws, chisels, and other tools to carve ice into stunning designs. These festivals also often include other activities such as ice skating, live music, and food vendors, creating a lively and festive atmosphere for attendees to enjoy.
Below are some of the world-famous ice sculpting festivals
Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival (China):
One of the largest and most famous ice sculpture festivals globally, held annually in Harbin, China. It features enormous ice and snow sculptures, illuminated ice lanterns, and various winter activities.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival – Search Images (bing.com)
Ice Carved Marvel at the Harlan Ice Festival
Sapporo Snow Festival (Japan):
Held in Sapporo, Japan, this festival is renowned for its stunning ice sculptures and massive snow statues. It attracts millions of visitors each year and includes an international ice sculpture competition.
Sapporo Ice and Snow Festival – Search Images (bing.com)
Quebec Winter Carnival (Canada):
The Quebec Winter Carnival is a major winter celebration in Quebec City, Canada. It features a variety of events, including an impressive ice sculpture competition where artists create intricate works of art.
Quebec Ice and Snow Festival – Search Images (bing.com)
World Ice Art Championships (Alaska, USA):
Located in Fairbanks, Alaska, this competition brings together ice artists from around the world to showcase their skills in various categories. It is part of the larger Ice Alaska festival.
Alaska Ice and Snow Festival – Search Images (bing.com)
International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival (Russia):
Held in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, this festival features an international ice sculpture competition, attracting artists from different countries to create stunning ice masterpieces.
Krasnoyarsk Ice and Snow Festival – Search Images (bing.com)
Ice Magic Festival (Canada):
Located in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, the Ice Magic Festival is part of the larger Winter Festival of Lights. Artists sculpt intricate ice creations on the shores of Lake Louise against the backdrop of the picturesque Rocky Mountains.
lake luise Ice and Snow Festival – Search Images (bing.com)
The Attraction of Ice Sculpting Festivals
Dear reader, here are some winter driving tips, just in case you have moved into a region that comes across challenges as mentioned at the top of this blog.
Drive carefully and stay safe.
