Icewind's Ramblings

After a certain age, If you don't wake up aching in every joint, You are probably dead. Ice

It has been a long grueling week here in Alaska . It ran the gamut from being pretty cold for this time of year with it in single digits or just below zero in the mornings while I looked at the weather map on the Today Show showing that Alaska was “Above Normal” so I have no idea where they were getting their information. Driving to work in the darkness was somewhat deceiving with the ‘black ice’ covering the ground several mornings that we had ice fog around the city. The clear nights with the cold temperatures, no wind, and the inlet close-by made for some tough driving conditions for many people. We had a couple small snow flurries which most hoped that it would warm up a bit and have the heavens cut loose with a nice fresh snowfall before the Holiday . Fresh snow cleans everything up for a bit and makes things have that ‘wintry’ look. Work tried to beat me down this week as I tried to keep up with everything going on. Multiple projects, several ...

A carelessly planned project will take three times longer to complete than expected; a carefully planned project will take only twice as long. Ice

I grew up most of my life living in the South and moved north from Atlanta in 1995. One of those Southern traits and traditions dear to my heart was while eating one meal the people sitting around the table would start discussing the next meal. I think it helped the food digest since it was always that way from the time I was a little boy. Food is so much a part of being Southern. It has driven men in wars, in love, and in making you feel cooler than the actual outside temperature. That is one reason why iced tea and mint juleps are so popular. Every Southern man loves homemade biscuits and red-eye gravy, grits drowning in butter, and a huge slab of bacon with dark hash browns . . . the Waffle House way, scattered, smothered, and covered. For those unfamiliar with Waffle House terminology, “scattered” means spread out on the flat griddle and cooked on both sides, instead of cooked in a ring and similar to a cake. Light refers to the degree of doneness, meaning n...

I decided on the way home the other night that I did not want to cook or have to really do anything for dinner so I stopped at one of the local places to grab something to take home. I ordered and it did not take long for me to be on my way again but as I turned to leave I was struck by something by the front door. When you leave, there's a sign on the door that says "Place your next order on-line NOW!" I think the "NOW" is a little over-ambitious. How much do they think I like this pizza? I haven’t even gotten home yet and I'm holding a hot, steaming pie in my hands already, and now I'm supposed to go home and instantly order the next one? I don't think drug dealers are this pushy. ("Here's your order - oh, and before you shoot up, why don't you go ahead and page me? I'll meet you back here in about 10 minutes.") I took the pizza home and ate it with little fanfare. It was ok but nothing that really made me desire anothe...

After returning from my Saturday breakfast and my weekly chores I sat down for a bit to rest and watch a little television while everyone else was out or asleep from working the night shift. It was nice sitting watching the very light snow flurries and a warm fire going in the fireplace. I’m not usually one for commercials but one caught my eye and had me thinking. Citibank credit card has a commercial about how they will help you write an amazing story into your life. Every time I see that commercial, I think, “but I want to write my own amazing life!” I’m a writer, why does someone else need to write anything for me? Today that nagging little thought suddenly struck home in full force. I get to write my own story. Not just my own short stories and books, but I can write my own life as I want it to be. What a concept for those even who do not write, think about it. As writers, we show human beings in their best and worst moments. We’re masters of plot...