Snow?!?

Yesterday, while we were having lunch downtown, we looked outside Lucia's window and saw snow streaming down. 24 hours later, it is still snowing like mad, and we probably have 6-8 inches of wet slop on the grass, trees, and street. I went out this morning to knock snow off the lilac bush which has juicy buds on it. I hope it still blooms this year. The crabapple in the front yard presented a bigger problem. I tried to knock some snow off but the branches were frozen and a little fragile. I guess Barre Town is "higher elevation" because that's where the weather was predicted to be. Last night I drove down to the library and found no snow in the city at all.

The library program was fascinating and was part of a state-wide reading of Katherine Paterson's new Day of the Pelican. A panel of four refugees from Bosnia, Burma, Afghanistan, and Congo spoke about what caused them to leave their countries and what they faced when they came to Barre. After leaving their countries, all four made intermediate stops, some of them for many years, before coming here. Marijana from Bosnia told of their five years in a prison-turned-refugee-camp in Croatia. She, her mother, and three sisters lived in one tiny room (cell?). When they came to their host's house in Berlin, they were initially uncomfortable in the two large bedrooms they were to share. Htar Htar, from Burma, was most touched by the parenting she received since her parents are revolutionaries and very busy. Over the years, I have watched her grow into a very confident young woman.

The "Samosa Man" from Congo said that language was the biggest problem for him, but he has certainly overcome it in the 10 years he's been in the U.S. His business, started after he was laid off from his job, is burgeoning, and he's now talking with national chains like Whole Foods to be outlets for his yummy products. Ruhin from Afghanistan was an honor student at our high school, graduated magna cum laude from St. Michael's College, and plans to go to medical school and "give back" to the people of the U.S. All of their stories were incredibly touching, and we are lucky to have them in our community. They, too, reminded us of the value of this small community and its inherent good. It was a "feel-good" night.