Snowbound!

Another Nor'easter came up the coast yesterday and socked us in with lots of sideways-falling snow. Winds howled and gusted at 35-50 miles per hour throughout the night - and continue even now through the day.

If it weren't for the water in front of the house, this would look like a scene right out of Dr. Zhivago.

Just humming "Lara's Theme" gives me a chill.

There is something enchanting and romantic about being snowed in. I love to snuggle under my favorite blanket with a hot cup of tea and my Kindle. Or, watch old movies from the 40s and 50s and covet that dress or that pair of shoes and try to repeat that Really Great line when it comes by.

I've also gotten caught up on reading the New York Times and Washington Post which I now get "delivered" to my laptop every morning. It wasn't that long ago that you could be assured that if there was a blizzard, you were not going to get your newspaper delivered to your doorstep on time. Now, no matter the weather or location, if I have my laptop, I have a newspaper.

Ya gotta love technology. When it works. (I'm praying we don't lose our electricity.)

And now, thanks to Santa's Elves, I have a Sirius Radio. OMG! Can I just say how much fun this is? It's totally portable, so I can bring it in the car with me and. . .and. . .AND. . . it will move to Cambridge with me when I begin my Proctor Fellowship in a few weeks.

How amazing is THAT?

My regular radio doesn't seem to work very well here on the water, for some strange reason, so I'm delighted to have this satellite radio.

The local station with the strongest signal seems to be "The Talk of Delmarva" - a local Fox News station. Of course.

In the past couple of months, I've actually listened to Rush Limbaugh, et al., and all the Rush Wannabees more times than I care to admit. I got suckered in after trying to find a local station with local weather reporting.

You know, I don't mind that people hold different opinions than the ones I hold. Indeed, I find it interesting when it isn't occasionally confounding. But, OYE, the venom and vitriol!

The other night, a talk show host named "Duke" (how's that for a manly-man name?), was trying to get some music he had pre-recorded on his MP3 to play on turntable number two, but just couldn't get it to work. So, after muttering and stammering in a manly-man way, of course, what else was he to do but start taking callers.

The first words out of the first caller's mouth were these, "Hey, Duke. Sorry yer turntable went 'liberal' on ya."

Honest to Pete! "Went 'liberal' on ya'"??? You're kidding me, right?

Needless to say, it went downhill from there.

I had to turn it off after a few minutes. I was in danger of "going postal".

I've also had an opportunity to catch up on reading various blogs, which I haven't had much chance to do over Christmas. It's been good to check in on some of my friends and listen in on their thoughts.

I did wander over to one of my least favorite blogs and, you know, I was struck by how it sounds remarkably like stuff I hear on "The Talk of Delmarva". Like this little link about Global Warming.

My favorite comment was, "They (meaning, of course, the nefarious 'liberals') will never give up, because this isn’t about science, it’s about politics."

Talk about having a firm grasp on the obvious.

If stupidity is ignorance that refuses to be educated, then both stupidity and ignorance can become their own form of entertainment. Which, I suppose, is why Rush Limbaugh and all the Rush Wannabees are so successful in the media. And, the plethora of so-called "reality" shows.

I don't think this is exactly what our founders thought would happen to the First Amendment right to "freedom of speech."

Whatever happened to "situation comedy" like . . . . . Oh, never mind. I'll only date myself and then feel bad about sounding like an Olde Poop.

Meanwhile, the wind continues to howl outside my door, as I begin to consider which DVD I'll pop in and watch tonight, having done all the reading I care to do right now and watched all my favorite HBO shows "on demand".

I'm going to pass on "The Big Chill" - the title alone makes me cold even though it's a great flick - or anything with any snow scenes, like "Fargo".

I haven't seen "Rainman" in an age. Or, "Moonstruck". Or, "My Cousin Vinny". Or, "Prince of Tides". Or "Terms of Endearment". Or "Steel Magnolias".

Just found "Out of Africa" and "Atonement" which was hidden behind, "Life is Beautiful" and "The English Patient" - (OMG! Julia Binoche! Can there be a more perfectly beautiful creature than Julia Binoche?)

Or one of my all time favorites - "House of Sand and Fog". It's one of those rare movies which I thought was deeply respectful of the characters and story line of the book - even though the ending was different. The acting (Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley) and directing (Vadim Perelman) are also suburb.

Nah, I think I'm going to watch Ms. Conroy's DVD of old "I Love Lucy" shows which she got a few years ago as a Christmas present.

No heavy thoughts here. Just my kind of "reality" show - one that takes me out of my present reality to consider the various realities and complexities and foibles of the human enterprise.

Oh, and laugh and laugh and laugh.

Meanwhile, the wind will continue to howl all around me, reminding me of my own snowbound reality from which I'm escaping - even if just in my mind and only for a few hours.

That, I think, is the real gift of being snowbound.