Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship by Tom Ryan is published by William Morrow. It tells the story of my adventures with Atticus M. Finch, a little dog of some distinction. You can also find our column in the NorthCountry News.

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

The Waiting Place

Today's storm is not as bad as they feared it would be, but there is still plenty of accumulation out there and it will be difficult to hike in the next few days. When it is like this, when the snow is so deep even down here in the Notch, never mind up above 3,000 feet, it will take a while to get back on the trails and to get back up on the summits again. I fear for the next day or two or maybe even three we'll be in that place Dr. Seuss wrote about in "Oh, The Places You'll Go"...'the Waiting Place':


...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.