Hooray, Winter is Back!

OK, sarcasm off. (Now that I'm thinking of my last post, for the reader winter seemed to be never gone, but Athens actually experienced a few days above zero degree Celsius.) The optimist in me still thinks that Spring will come eventually. (Alright, that was a little sarcastic again...) Ohio's wildlife is getting ready for the spring, at least. The birds started to sing in the mornings, and I'll never forget the beauty of a Northern Cardinal sitting on snowy branches, singing its lovely song. A bright red flush in between the powdery whiteness. 

The first week of March was also Spring Break. My History Through Film teacher is the only one who gave us homework to do over the break. But a five page long essay is not enough, he seems to think, thus a Mid Term exam comes up right on the first Monday after Spring Break. The break also brought a ghostly emptiness to Athens, which was almost a terrifying experience. As I walked down Court Street in the evening, all Bars were either closed or completely deserted, and no one was on the street. Everybody seemed to have fled the town to a place with more forgiving temperatures. I didn't expect that the town would turn into such a Ghost Town, so I came to the decision that I didn't want to spend my whole Spring Break in Athens either. A nice trip to Pittsburgh for three days was supposed to be the highlight of my Spring Break. If it wasn't for the snow... Everything planned and settled, I got ready and was out the door to walk to the bus stop. “Crap, not again”, I thought, starring at the wintry mess in front of me. A swath of snow had came down over night. Anyway, I made it to the bus stop somehow. So I waited for the bus. Ten, fifteen, and twenty minutes passed. “Hm, maybe a delay, due to the weather.” A few workers came by, clearing the road. They told me that the Sheriff had declared a “Snow Alert Level 3”, which meant all roads were closed for everyone, except for “non­emergency personnel”. I walked home again, mumbling “I HATE SNOW, I HATE SNOW, I HATE SNOW”, praying it like a mantra. Unfortunately, the rotten cherry on top is the $130 bus ticket. After being on hold on the phone for one hour, and another one spending talking to more or less motivated employees, GoBus is blaming Greyhound for a refund, and Greyhound blames GoBus. (I bought a combined ticket, I would have gone to West Virginia with GoBus, and then transferred on Greyhound to Pittsburgh. Wishful thinking...) However, I went for a walk at dusk tonight, and was taken away by the stunning beauty. The sun was setting behind the glistening horizon, mirroring in long and impressing, fairy­tale like icicles hanging from those American houses. Only a few birds were still singing, but eventually nature was falling into twinkling silence.