Palominoes,

Hope all is well and you are enjoying the winter wherever you 
are. The first time I saw snow was when I was hiking with 
fellow grad student Wayne (where are you, Wayne?) on Mt. Wilson
near Pasadena, CA. That was the very first time, after being on
this planet for about 25 years. I was so excited I fell face 
first on it and rolled around. It must have been a very funny
sight for Wayne who is from the North country way up in 
British Columbia (but then, he probably already thought me
weird, so what the heck). So it was that wednesday night (4th)
I was very happy when the weather people were talking about 
6 to 8 inches of snow thursday morning. This doesn't happen 
very often here--in fact in the past few years the first snow
fall didn't occur until february or march and that too just one
or two inches.

Sometimes, the weather people do get it right in Washington, 
and this time everything went as predicted. By early morning we 
had our six inches already and everything was closed, including 
my campus. That meant a lot of headache because I had scheduled 
an exam that morning, but hey, we'll worry about that later. My 
more immediate worry was about missing my thursday morning run.
Then I saw somebody jogging on the sidewalk. As Anthony Hopkins'
character says in the movie "The Edge," what one man can do, 
any other man can. So I put on my jogging suit and went jogging.
It was not the first time I had done it winter, nor the first 
time in snow, but I had never before run in a full-fledged 
snow-storm. And man, was it coming down. 

At first it felt as if I was breathing it in. But as I went on,
I was relieved to find out that was an illusion and that my 
lungs wouldn't be filled with snow. Running on snow is a bit
like running on the beach. You get tired more easily and you 
are aware of each step as it sinks into the snow. But it is 
much easier on the joints compared to the concrete, and you get
a more aerobic workout even at a much slower pace. Plus the air
is much clearer and less polluted, because of the snow and also
because the cars stay home. My $30 'sketchers' sneakers did a 
great job. Most of the sidewalk was filled with snow, although 
at a few places some hardy folk had shovelled it off. In fact 
at one place an old man was showing off his snow blower. Must 
be a transplant from Wisconsin. The kids on the block (with 
their soccer balls) were all standing around watching the snow 
shower onto the street from the curb. The best was in front of 
the Marriott hotel where somebody was going up and down 
scrubbing it off as it came down, so the haut monde won't get 
their shoes wet. Man, the haut monde don't know what they are 
missing. 

Running north on Massachusetts ave you hit a stretch of road 
which goes somewhat steeply uphill for a mile and more. Here 
came my toughest test. The snow was so thick and luxurious here 
one woman was skiing down on the sidewalk. As I reached the top 
of this climb it became just too difficult and I got down and 
started running on the road. Nobody honked at me. Traffic was 
light in that direction, and not moving much faster than me 
anyway. I was surprised, though, at how many people were indeed 
going to work. Metro bus was running as usual and there were 
the usual rush hour clusters of people at the bus stops. But 
then again, if this were some city farther north, everybody
would be going to work.

The best part of it was the scenery. Washington is full of 
beautiful buildings and they look even better with the white 
stuff covering their arches, awnings, shingles, and spires.
The bronze Gandhi walking with his stick in front of the Indian
embassy looked like he had a white shawl thrown over his
shoulder. The copper thinker (green with verdigris), in front of 
the Croatian embassy, looked even more gloomy and contemplative 
than before, under a blanket of snow. There are not that many 
pine trees here, so the trees don't look all that great, though 
their bleak beauty is accentuated by the snow, but if you want 
to take pictures of the snow that you want to show off later, 
go for the gray. Especially brooks, with dark branches and 
stones popping up from underneath the snow surrounded by gray 
stone walls. Gray on white is the best. I went around later in 
the day taking pictures, but didn't see how beautiful snow looks
on anything gray or brown until later.

So I had a fun run in the snow-storm. Unfortunately in 
Washington the fun ends there. Unlike in places like Montreal 
where they go about with their zambonis clearing the sidewalks,
in Washington they just pile it onto the curb from the street
making each foray from the sidewalk to the street an adventure. 
The fluffy snow soon gets crushed by pedestrians into ice and 
the sidewalks become a gigantic outdoor skating rink, except it 
is bumpy. For someone dependent on his feet for locomotion the 
next week or so until the snow all melted became a test of 
balance, patience and concentration. Lucky for me my feet are
relatively large. 

I was determined not to let this get in the way of my routine, 
so I spent the next week slip-sliding on the ice and the slush.
Even went running couple of times. I was very proud of the way I
concentrated on each step. Usually I fall at least two or three 
times but a week had passed and snow and ice were almost gone 
and here I was, still not surrendering my verticality. But last 
thursday I was running and just as I was nearing the end of the 
run and getting ready to pat myself on the back Murphy's law 
enforced itself. It was the black ice that got me. I assure you,
ice on asphalt is the most treacherous. It is as smooth as a 
marble floor with oil spilled on it. My mind wandered for just
a second and boom! My right foot slipped sideways and I fell
flat on my face in front of all the morning office-goers. But 
please, give me credit for getting up and continuing the run.

Well, I hope you enjoyed that little rigmarole. Hope you also
had some fun in the snow!

Au revoir,
Sankar

P.S: The conversation in rt23 never took place. Sorry I didn't 
say that. It is based on my feelings and on women that I have 
met, of course. 

Random thoughts (25)
12/16/02

1. I have always wondered how in action movies the Director's
favourite character always manages to run unscathed through a
hail of bullets. But no more. For about a week I provided a
walking target to the kids of Columbia Heights and not one of 
their snow missiles touched me. No sir, not even a scrape. And
try they did, sometimes hurling masses of considerable diameter
with impressive velocity. I never had to run, either.

2. Last wednesday we had an ice-storm and many of the trees
were covered with icicles. The bare trees and scrub looked like
ice sculptures. It is a truly beautiful sight. So next time you
have an ice-storm in your area, please have your camera ready.

3. Is honesty always the best policy? Sometimes we say half-
truths or avoid saying the truth, if not lie altogether, out of 
love. But is it really love? How do we know what is good for 
someone? Perhaps people are always better off knowing the truth
about themselves? Are we really helping someone by not telling
them the whole truth or are we just doing that to feel better or
to feel some kind of control over the other person? Like giving
candy to a kid, like the television programmers giving people
what they crave? Sometimes being honest has not won me friends,
and I don't regret it. But I am still unsure about when to be 
not completely honest. Especially of women, I would like to 
know, should I always compliment their appearance even when they
are not at their best? (Oh what a geeky question, huh?)

4. Talking of women, a man never forgets the memory of the 
sights, smell, words, taste and touch of women who have touched
him in some way, romantically or otherwise. Never. (There is a 
line to this effect, or at least something like this, in "Scent
of a woman" by Al Pacino).

5. As human beings what really carries us forward is our 
capacity for denial. Every moment of most of our lives we live 
in denial of death. Those who don't deny it are the ones trying
the hardest to get the most out of life. I would like to spend
every day as if I were going to die the next day. I am grateful
though sad to see things that remind me of death. Like, for
example, a National Geographic program about the recent 
discovery of mummies in a Mayan pyramid. It now makes sense to 
me why some cultures were so obsessed with death. Other than 
just visions of after-life, perhaps it helped them to appreciate
life more, and to face death in peace.

6. The more intelligent people become, the more difficult it
becomes to communicate. The problem is that they start to 
believe they know what others are thinking and hence assume all 
sorts of things without trying to really listen and understand. 

7. I take comfort in the certitude of numbers. That is really
what attracted me to mathematics. With numbers, you know exactly
what you are dealing with, all the time.

8. For me, going on the bus is real life, with its stops and
stalls and waiting and crowding and other minor discomforts. 
Driving a car is a privilege and pleasure. Going on a plane is a
dream and I am always amazed to feel that I am actually flying.

9. In running and in meditation, as in most activities of life,
it is the initial period when you are struggling to take off
that is the most difficult and dangerous. Once you take off
and reach the proper altitude and cruising speed, everything
becomes easy and pleasant and wonderful. But you need some
determination and skill to get through that initial take-off
period.

10. Overheard on the shuttle bus to campus:

Student A: "I got this economy exam today. Shit has sixty 
multiple choice questions on it. I am a try and cheat on 
somebody."

B: "That's the only good thing about it, though."