Dana, You Sure Blow

They named this snowstorm Dana and it's a real corker. We got a foot of snow--12"!!!--and the wind blew like crazy. Our house faces south so the snow blows over the roof and just drops. You think I'm kidding? Look at my car. It's still snowing off and on and blowing like there's no tomorrow. I'm not hurrying to get showered and off to work because I suspect that the parking lot snowplow guy is running a little behind. I'll get there around 10-ish, but I'm not going to rush. Bet the postal carriers are glad they've got the day off; I'd hate to be walking around in these drifts, it's hard enough to drive in them.

February 20--Iran, Isfandiyar's Third Course: He Slays a Dragon. The book was a wonder. Page after page illustrated with vivid watercolors, the blackest ink, silver and gold. The old stories of The Book of Kings by a Persian poet in the 1500s played out in pictures and the script that looks like music written on the page. Flowing lines and arabesques dance in columns, tell of the triumphs and trials of Persia's Shahs. Leslie wore white cotton gloves as she turned each page under the lens of the document camera. The light did not damage the ancient inks and paper but let her make copies that she could use in her research and not risk hurting the priceless volumes. She smoothed her hand over the page and felt something snag her glove. Oh no, she thought, pleasepleaseplease let me not have damaged it. It had been hard enough to get Professor Lehigh to let her copy the pages, he'd kill her if she ruined anything. She looked closely at the page and saw that one corner of the text was lifting as if a part of it had been covered up. These pages were purported to be in pristine and original condition. She picked up a thin metal spatula from the tray of tools beside her and bent to begin to tease it under the edge of the patch.

As I was typing this I imagined Nicholas Cage lurking behind her. You know, like in those National Treasure movies Mom likes so much. You know the ones, he's saving the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution by stealing it, you know... Well, anyway, that's what I thought. I hope you can shovel out today. Ooh, it's payday. Yippee!
--Barbara