We do not need to be told. We open our eyes in the morning at six o’ clock and it is still dark it is not even six in the evening and the sun has set.
We feel winter coming in the brisk icy wind that seeps into our bones and makes the leaves fall in multicolours of red, pink, orange, yellow and brown. The warm colours are going, leaving the empty branches that stretch like lonely skeletons along the streets and highways.
Winter means different things to people. To the young and energetic, it is a time to frolic in the snow, to ice skate, snowboard and ski. It is a time for tobogganing, sleigh riding, ice fishing. It is a flourishing period for business people who sell winter coats and boots, winter sports equipments, ice shovels, winter tires and windshield fluid. It is the source of occupation for ski instructors, snow removal drivers, maintenance workers in winter resorts.
Winter has brought all kinds of sports that we see in the Winter Olympics. They look enjoyable but dangerous as well. Winter sports athletes train for years, many of them since childhood, to be proficient.
There are many hardships brought about by winter. It is definitely more difficult to drive in icy streets than the clean dry ones in summer. The accumulation of snow hinders the traffic and often causes accidents. Visibility is often poor especially when it is snowing.
To most old people, winter is the season they do not look forward to. They are scared of the icy, slippery sidewalks, the minutes that seem like eternity, standing at the bus stop, waiting for a ride, the heavy coat, mufflers, woolen hats and boots that they have to wear and the strong, blustery wind that can knock them off their feet,.
It is said that winter is a time of the year when more people become depressed. The gloomy weather when the sun is seldom seen is a fertile source of dark thoughts and hopelessness. The sick, the jobless, the homeless, the drug addict, the rejected and even those with all the material things in life but emotionally dejected, have a harder time during this season of the year.
We sometimes think of the darkest hours as the winters in our lives.
To a family in Vaughan, the happy reunion of the family to celebrate the 99th birthday of their grandfather turned to be a winter in their lives when a member, a young woman, was killed in a car accident on her way home with her twin brother. The whole family was in a terrible shock especially the twin brother who felt helpless in being unable to help his sister.
According to the news, the 99 year old grandfather was feeling guilty because these grandchildren traveled to attend his birthday celebration.
Jerry Sandusky will be spending thirty winter seasons of his life in jail for molesting young people whom he coached. This must feel thirty long winter years of hopelessness for this man who was once a respected member of his community.
Conrad Black is a very intelligent man who made a vast fortune in the newspaper business. He wrote several books and had written numerous articles expressing his views on varied subjects. In the course of his business life, he made many enemies that brought him to the winter of his life. He spent about six years in jail but he kept on fighting the accusations against him. Many of them were later dismissed by higher courts. Here is a man, who, in spite of all the winter storms in his life, has remained steadfast on his feet. Will spring come to him one of these days?
To many people, winter means hockey. But with the ongoing lockout, it looks like all that these people will be left with is the winter. What is sad is that the protagonists in this drama are not the losers; both sides are not worried about mortgages, food on the table and children who need tuition fees in school. Those who are suffering a winter in their lives are the lowly employees – the maintenance workers of hockey rinks, the food vendors, the ticket sellers and even the senior ushers in the games.
In my family, winter seemed to have descended in the midst of the spring season. My youngest sister was diagnosed with cancer. It was a dark time in our family, but all the members rallied together to boost my sister’s courage to fight. We went through all that process of consultations, treatments, surgery and more treatment. Now she is in remission. The sun seems to be bright again. It is spring in the fall.
As I write this missive, I just heard that a dear friend of mine had found her son has an incurable illness. This friend of mine and her husband are well-known pillars of my community. I can imagine the sorrowful burden that they carry on their shoulders.
I turned on the television and I heard that a 25 year old man was shot dead on his own doorway.
In the United States, the two candidates for presidents are neck-in-neck in the polls. Who would feel the cold of winter in November?
All of us have had or will have winters in our lives. Like the season, it cannot be avoided. No matter how severe the winter is in our lives, let us look forward to the coming of spring.
