The Ice Man Cometh

I'm surprised to be writing this morning. Last night a drizzle of freezing rain drenched the northeast from stem to stern and I awoke this morning amazed to find we still had power. That, however, didn't last very long. Just as I learned nearly 80,000 Mainers in nearby towns were without power, the television went black and the lights went out. We were prepared though, and I lit the fireplace and set a pot of water in the coals to boil.

It was just like scouting and the memories filled my mind as quickly as smoke from the Franklin Stove began to stream into the room. Don't ever buy a Franklin, or at least the old fashioned variety with the small firebox. Not only are they inefficient, they easily smoke. So, off we went to my study which also has a fireplace and settled in for what we hoped would be a pleasant, cozy day. It's still a pleasant and cozy day but now that the power's back on (for however long), it's a little more convenient. For one thing, I almost ran to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Readers who are also students will identify with my urgency, I've no doubt.

I mentioned a fireplace in my study -- please don't get me wrong, we're not wealthy, just extremely fortunate to rent a home in a part of the Country where fireplaces are a staple. This one dates to the late 1770s and I love to imagine Colonial Americans gathered by it just as are we, waiting for the ice to thaw and the roads to clear.

One of my favorite authors is David Elton Trueblood, a Quaker philosopher and theologian who passed away several years back. I was honored to meet him while in seminary one evening. I saw him in the cafeteria, eating alone, and asked if I might join him. He was kind, gracious, and extraordinarily modest, especially for someone who had published more books than I had fingers and toes and who had been the friend of Presidents.

Anyhow, he wrote somewhere (when I find the source, I'll let you know): "A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit." Knowing Trueblood, he was probably referring to an awareness that we are all connected and when we act in regard for that connectedness and not out of self-interest, we are learning what it means to be truly human.

On a cold, icey day in December, while many are staying in shelters, we are able to remain at home thanks to an aging physician who owned this farm and decided it was a good thing to plant a few "shade trees." I hope your day is just as wonderful as ours.