52 words for snow

some people say that eskimoes have 52 different words for snow. it's a matter of opinion, debate, and legend but i like the idea of it.

i like the idea that i can express one feeling with more words than one, depending on the circumstance, the recipient, my mood. how perfectly freeing it is to choose just the right combination of letters coming together to help me say what i need to say.

there was a homeless man on the parkway today. he was sitting on his backpack in the snow, and his hands were shaking as they gripped a sloppy piece of cardboard that said "hungry homeless vet please help". we pulled around the corner and i rolled my window down to call him over but he was weak and feeble and had trouble getting up, so i jumped out of the car and handed him two dollars. i always give them what i can and didn't use to believe it helped much, but an article in last week's citypages turned me upside down on that one. every penny counts.

his face quivered and his glasses got a little foggy and with a toothless expression he looked me right in the eye and with all his heart said

thank you, thank you so much, god bless you.

and i said god bless you, too.

the right words to say,

though i was sad to hear and say them.

as we pulled away we saw in the rearview mirror that someone else had stopped also, and maybe he got another dollar.

i could hear him say the same thing

thank you and god bless you

and i knew that 4 dollars might last him a week if all goes well.

4 dollars can last a week,

words last forever.

peace.