Adult in Training

Dear L.L. Bean,

If you were still alive, I would marry you.  Your products are one of the only material things that I will miss when I move back home.  Last year I bought one of your winter jackets.  Not only is it esthetically pleasing, it is also possibly the warmest jacket I’ve ever owned.

As I write, New Hampshire is in the middle of a winter storm.  I would say “snow storm,” but that would be an exaggeration, because right now its like the world is blanketed in white sugar.  So, for only the third time this winter, I busted out my trusty jacket, zipped on the hood and headed out to brave the weather.  By the time I got to work, I was so warm that I had to take out the lining.

Not surprisingly, my car couldn’t make it home after work.  I had to park down the street and walk home. Wearing just the outer layer, and a scarf, I made it home through the storm without even feeling a little bit cold.  I know that I naturally give off a lot of body heat, but I have never been this happy with a coat.  When I’m too warm, I can take a layer off, or on the odd chance that I’m too cold, I can add a layer.  And it’s waterproof, so I can wear it during the monsoons in the Spring.

I wish that I could wear this jacket forever.  If it ever wears out, you can count on it that I will be making the trip to Freeport, Maine – home of your flagship store, the most glorious store in all of Freeport (not least of all because it is open 24/7).

Sincerely,

Your Greatest Fan of All Time

So I knew today was going to suck.  I knew in advance that I probably wouldn’t be able to make it home.  I had to go to work at 3:00, and I probably wouldn’t be getting home until 7:00, and in between those times it was supposed to sleet, then snow, then sleet. Sweet.  When I got out of the rink at like 6:30 it looked like someone had poured three inches of sugar on top of the ice that was still around from our last storm/thaw.  I was stoked just to get out of the parking lot.

On the ride home I went the long way, and used my new skills at driving a standard in the snow. I drove in third gear almost the entire way, and was revving at like 1500.  And I was fine.  Until we got to within like a half-kilometer of our driveway.   And Georgia stalled on the way up the hill.  So Berman got out and pushed me for like 150 meters, until I basically skidded off the road and had to stop.  So we reversed down the road for what seemed like an eternity, planning on parking in the trailer park.  It seemed like the best idea. 

Until we found out we had to go up another hill to get to the parking lot.  And so Berman had to get out and push again.  And then one of the ladies that live in the trailer park – who also happens to work in the Cafe at my school – comes out and lends a hand to the effort, telling us we can park in her driveway.  But we couldn’t even get up that tiny, tiny hill.  So I ended up parking next to a snowbank, and calling it quits for the night.

After thanking Debbie a number of times, and wishing her luck in getting to work tomorrow morning at 5:30, Berman and I started jogging home.  Because neither of us had a flashlight, and both of us are afraid of the dark.  Until we got to just after the place that Georgia quit on me, because we were both feeling more than a little out of shape.  Or at least I was. Maybe Berman called a halt to our jogging because she could hear my laboured breathing. 

In any event, I just want to say: If I was in Toronto, I wouldn’t even have this problem.  I’m pretty sure that while my street may not have been ploughed already, all the major streets would have been ploughed at least once.  Because we’re not stupid, and we know that driving in conditions like this is dangerous, and waiting until it’s done precipitating isn’t always the best choice.  Cheap bastards!  I just hope they do something by the time I have to got to work tomorrow at 12:00.  Otherwise it’s going to be a long-ass walk.