Splendor In The Snow

Last Saturday, there was a lot of snow on the ground. You fellow Oklahomans may have noticed. For some, a ton of snow is a minor obstacle. For some, a ton of snow is a life-threatening, paralyzing concern. And for others, a ton of snow is pure joy!

Allow me to introduce Skippy. Skippy is a neighborhood kid, I think. It's a little hard to tell because he's bundled up to an extraordinary degree. He might not actually be a kid - he might be a sentient winter coat.

My wife and I saw him Saturday, wandering through the snow with a broom. He was using the broom to very gently brush the surface of the snow. It looked like he was cultivating a Zen Garden or something.

Then, with very little warning, he threw the broom off to the side, and dove into the snow face-first. Greg Louganis he ain't. He rolled and flopped around in the snow like he'd just realized he was on fire. He finally came to a stop in a (formerly) relatively clear patch of snow. He made a snow angel.

Without getting up, he managed to grab the broom handle. He held the broom up in the air, completely ignoring the snow falling off the bristles and into his face.

Then, Skippy got up in a flash! He started swinging the broom like a wild man, slamming it down into the snow. He almost looked like he was chopping wood.

Suddenly, Skippy took off running toward a nearby snowman! This particular snowman (pictured on the right) had a very small head. Skippy, still in full gallop, twirled the broom around in his hands, and took a vicious swing at the snowman's head. I'm not kidding, this was a mean swing. It looked like he was getting revenge on the T-Ball stand that shot his paw.

After knocking off the snowman's head, he suddenly twirled around like he was scared. Quickly, he found a likely lump of snow and placed it on top of the headless mound. Then he ran away.

It was several minutes later that my wife and I stopped laughing enough to breathe. The entire episode lasted about 3 minutes, max. It was brilliant.