Monday, February 17, 2014

Now is the winter of our discontent....

to steal a little shakespeare...who had no idea when writing this little gem of the wrath of mother nature in 2014 new york...then again living in those old drafty castles probably was no picnic...but i digress...the weather...it is all we talk about...bitch about...post about...and it is still february...two weeks away from the weather crapfest that is march...we are also in the middle of the winter olympics...and i am remembering that in the past how i would really look forward to the ice skating competition...always amazed at the spins, jumps and grace as I would recall my attempts on the ice...owning white skates with pink pom-pom laces and no apparent skill whatsoever...but this time, maybe blah and numb from lugging around in 400 pound snow boots and winter gear since november, i am less interested...but then a few days ago as i played spin the dial to avoid another dire weather interruption i saw it...little yulia lipnitskaia of russia...wearing red on a sea of white ice...skating to "schindler's list"!!...i did a double-take...figure skating to the sob-inducing music of "schindler's list" in the land that gave us the pogrom...in a nation where it is dangerous in the 21st century to be openly gay...could a 15-year-old know all the twisted irony when she chose the music?...i've googled in earnest...reading how she was discouraged by many over her insistent choice of music...how she had watched the movie many times and was drawn to the girl in the red coat...how they searched for a choreographer...and ultimately chose a russian jew...how, all politics aside, it was a hauntingly beautiful interpretation...if she takes the gold, I only hope putin doesn't steal her thunder...he certainly will never understand the strength of spirit that always burns even in the most oppressed souls...maybe this should be what we take away from sochi...