couch potato

This sets things in motion when you turn on the TV and up pops the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 staged in China. That’s what I’ve been glued to during the past week.

I’m drawn to it like a moth to the flame. What’s going on? What have I missed? What will I miss if I’m stuck to work in my home office?

The agony of the loser, the triumph of the winner. I can’t resist, when picking up a fresh coffee in the office, to sidle into the solarium and turn on the television.

I have an old television set in my office perched on a large three-door filing cabinet. I haven’t turned it on for years because I work here. Any distraction would ruin my day.

There is an exemption. At 10 AM, or thereabouts, I wander down to the kitchen for my second cup of coffee. Milk only. The open solarium is one step down from the kitchen where the TV’s blank screen begs me to hit the remote and watch what Olympic sports are on at the moment.

I spilled my coffee because I flipped on the TV and caught Quebec’s Steve Dubois, an Olympic rookie, in the 1,500 meter short track speedskating final, shoot across the finish line winning silver.

He was a heartbeat behind Daeheon Hwang of South Korea who won gold.

Author’s comment: Highlights what’s ahead: MONDAY: snowboard; curling. TUESDAY: men’s skiing; ice hockey. WEDNESDAY: cross-country skiing, ice hockey. THURSDAY: freestyle skiing. FRIDAY: men’s ski-cross final. SATURDAY: men’s 50 km. freestyle. women’s speed skate semifinal. Women’s 12.5 km mass start final. Sunday: women’s 30.km freestyle. Closing ceremony: Amen.

WINTER DAZE

Winter. A change from what goes on the rest of the year. It’s cold. Bring out your winter woollies, or whatever keeps you warm. If you remember where you put them. I never put them away together, or in the same place.

Winter brings a freshness that can be too much. Temps of minus 10 above – or is it below? – takes getting used to. I sober up thinking about where my wife Rosanne lived, an eight-hour drive north in Timmins, Ontario where temperatures often reaches minus 40 degrees.

There is nothing as beautiful as waking up at home to a clear blue sky; to a bright sun poking above the trees. All this complimented by few inches (or centimeters) of the fresh snow having arrived during the night.

I remember wandering outside as a kid making snowballs to throw at anything that moved, at anything that didn’t. Like the small pine tree near the house. That the snow didn’t pack well being too soft and fluffy, didn’t matter. It was snow that hung around happily for months.

Author’s comment: Looking outside this morning, fresh snow had arrived overnight. It spreads out from our doorstep, meanders down a hill to disappear and climbs up the far hill and beyond.