Mysterious lights and too much snow
There seems to be a minor mystery in Peabody these days. There are colored Christmas lights strung through a length of garland outlining the roof of the gazebo at Santa Fe Park. The lights stay on day and night. They are nearly invisible during the day, but are cheerful and, well, Christmas-y in the dark. No one seems to know who put them there or when.
As a member of the Christmas light committee I thought perhaps we did. Head Christmas light honcho Tom Schmidt says, "no, we didn't." Hmmmm. I have asked several people whom I thought might be likely candidates for a "Gussie up the Gazebo" committee, but they all were as flummoxed as I. Insert the theme song from "The Twilight Zone" here. Who dun it?
Another winter story is the deep freeze into which we seem to have stumbled. Good grief! I thought I left all of this behind me when I left northern Illinois 30-some years ago. I wish whoever dragged that poor sleepy groundhog out of his hole right before this mess hit us would stop by the coffee shop. I have a few opinions I'd like to share with him. Six more weeks of winter, indeed. Who thought that one up?
I have to say that I am more than a little impressed with the work the city crews did to get our streets cleared of the white stuff. They were out early several mornings (and I mean early, like in the middle of the night) to get a head start on the streets. Thanks Darren, Gary, and Ronnie.
Another thank you goes out to the folks who deliver our Wichita Eagle. More often than not in the past two weeks our paper has been on the steps or the porch instead of being buried in the snow bank at the curb or somewhere at the end of the driveway. And I know it is not easy for a novice to pull in and back out of our curvy drive when it is buried in snow. It takes years of training to navigate our driveway even in good weather. We appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Sunday and Monday brought more moderate temperatures. And it's about darned time! You know it's been cold when the high for the day is right at freezing and it feels positively balmy. Almost makes you want to break out the cut-offs and flip-flops
The July Fourth committee and the Doyle Valley Farmers Market vendors have had recent meetings to begin planning for their summer events. Valentine's Day is Saturday. March Madness looms on the horizon.
Hopefully the crocuses and daffodils can't be too far behind.
— SUSAN MARSHALL
