Snow White

A new year, a new winter. It is white out and cold and, instead of the water, I view the tops of tall buildings, an urban skyline. "Filene's" stands out in the distance, as does the broken left hand of Roger Williams behind our apartment, held nearly at his side overlooking Federal Hill from his perch on College Hill. A new apartment in a new city with a new white coat. Lots of "news." The old went out in ugly fashion, with the tsunami destroying the lives of more than a hundred thousand people in a matter of minutes along the coastlines of a dozen countries. An ugly old year. The year that gave Americans more of Bush and a continuation of the insanities of Iraq and terrorism throughout this uncivilized world. White snow blankets the dirt. It whitewashes the foul streets and sidewalks of a city. It perfects the rooftops and erases a million blemishes. Snow White is a euphemism. Beneath the surface, things are just as skank and gritty as they are anywhere else. Skank Black, Snow White. Its all the same, an illusion.