Snow in July

I wandered at night. Sleep didn't come easy for me and walking the streets seemed a better way of passing the time than wrestling around in the bed trying to fend off a thousand racing thoughts. Once outside I was drawn to the amber glow of Main street in particular. The length of the street was awash in a warm sepia tone. There was a unique feeling to the city of Elkhart... especially at night and especially around Main street. I don't know If I can bring it to life for you but I want to try. I stood on corner of Main and Pottawattomi Dr ... there was Red D Mart on the corner. If I closed my eyes I could hear the soothing sound of traffic flowing all around me. I could smell the river at my back. I could hear the gentle click of a car crossing the bridge. The air was warm at night... but it was the kind of warm that let you know you were experiencing a reprieve from the miserable heat of the day.


The night I would like to share was unlike any other night as I wasn't the only thing drawn to the lights. It was snowing... it looked as if the flakes were driven by fierce winds unsure of which direction they wanted to charge. They swirled in the light and accumulated on the ground... there were skiffs gathering against the walls of the store... along the sidewalks and on the edge of the street. The snow was really coming down. A single snow flake landed on the back of my hand and fluttered its tiny wings. Thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of tiny white moth-like insects were swarming every where I turned... I had never seen so many of one single living thing in one place before. They silently filled the air. I stood there for the longest time...motionless and experienced a snow storm in July.