Winter Wind
gust of writing to carry out 2025
We’ve had a couple days of fierce winds here in Western New York—blowing flurries and chill to sweep away the debris and deliver us to the illusion of a fresh start. Our new year 2026 will arrive on horseback.
I am taking the advice of Anne Lamott. Last month she posted How to Write Day One. First thing she mentions…
Decide to stop not writing.
After one year of writing and publishing regularly here, arriving at my completed work involves dancing around various thoughts to find my way. A quote can get things going. I came upon one recently that sounds true. David Foster Wallace wrote this about essays…
Occasions to watch somebody reasonably bright but also reasonable average pay far closer attention and think at far more length about all sorts of different stuff than most of us have a chance to in our daily lives.
That possibility of closer attention keeps me returning to write my picture-word essays.
Today, I noticed a meme on Instagram with the words…
Stop quoting and explain yourself
I do like this, as I often find myself grumbling about the excessive number of quotes informing social media—stand-ins for fresh ideas. I also appreciate how quotes help me to align with my own truths.
Joni Mitchell’s lyrics (Both Sides Now) do that for me on this day…
I’ve looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It’s life’s illusions, I recall
I really don’t know life at all
So much of memory is illusion, somewhat dreamlike and uncertain. Considering the ringing in of a new year, I naturally look back to other years that I seem to recall quite well, at least in part. Hearing the words, I really don’t know life at all, affirms my belief that I do know my life (illusion and all). If I am an expert in anything, it is my own life. It has been going on for a long time!
Three random New Year’s Eve memories:
1972…Ice skating with Darcy in Toronto while we were college students
1979…Attending annual Grateful Dead show at the Oakland Auditorium
2003…Hospitalized in Denver after stage IV cancer diagnosis
The first memory speaks to a lifelong connection to ice skating, starting at age six. I would call it the MacGuffin of my life, the object or device in a movie or a book that serves as a trigger for the story. Think of the envelope of stolen money that sparks an unusual disappearance of an ordinary woman leading to unfortunate events in the Hitchcock movie, Psycho.
What is the MacGuffin of your life?
As I mentioned, for me it is ice skating. I refer to this early in my memoir as the activity that takes me out of the home in my first attempts at independence learning in a crude frozen pond at the end of my street. It had a quality of glamour that was available nowhere else. This photo is not me, but that is the way I felt about myself on the ice. Remember those rabbit fur muffs? I had one and loved carrying it. However, it was never part of my skating attire—two free arms have always been necessary for skating balance.
A family friend gifted me a black lined with plush leopard skating skirt and vest to wear for this activity. It was usually too cold for such an outfit, but I managed to wear it a few times. Never more than an average skater, but I became fairly graceful and upright without falling. It was something I could do by myself—even walk to the new rink just a few blocks away. Except for a few years living in California, I went skating a couple times most winters until I broke my arm in a fall on the ice a few years ago and decided to eliminate the possibility of breaking a bone that way.
The MacGuffin has simply morphed into the absence of ice skating. I do miss it.
There is plenty to grumble about and regret. I have enjoyed listening to the progressive podcast, I’ve Had It! Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan comment on politics and society while turning grumble and regret into serious humor during this most disruptive era. One of their regular segments is a reveal of relatable common annoyances. I have a few of those myself:
I’ve had it with…
1) Receiving a follow-up text or email after every purchase, visit to a bank, doctor, or any service provider with the How did we do? request for my time to answer a brief survey and hopefully add a lovely comment to their online presence. I have done it for plumbers and other contractor types, but there are limits. My bank or doctor? No. Please stop.
2) Everything now is sold in bundles. I do not want five pairs of the same socks. I do not want to stock up on an expensive cosmetic that I may not even like. I just want to buy one.
3) Subscriptions. Sadly, the day is coming when staying alive will require such a transaction. Housing, food, water, heat and healthcare will be available bundled together for a monthly subscription fee.
GRRRRR.
After this year of loss, disruption, and chaos, we pretend renewal occurs after the stroke of midnight. I will play along and raise a glass and put all best thoughts forward into that belief.
Although the Lunar New Year is not until February, I recall we had a Year of the WOOD Horse back in 2014, featuring qualities of patience and creativity. This coming year is another Year of the Horse. This time, the element is FIRE, featuring qualities of boldness and ambition. We will have to see how it all plays out.
The horse symbol is rich. Although, I was never a girl who loved ponies or horses, I did take a riding class during my time at a state college with interesting gym electives. Mostly, my connection to horse energy is through the Tibetan Buddhist Wind Horse mythologies tying the image to the wellbeing of the human soul. Prayer flags spread blessings as they blow about in the breeze. Sometimes they are strung up inside during winter days. Riding the winds of intention while moving into 2026, I trust a good dose of Wind Horse is in order.
C h e e r f u l
N e w
Y e a r
t o
u s
a l l
!
~~~~~
