Personal Experience

Two or Three Minutes of Frostbite Never Hurt Anybody

Thankfully, it’s from the outside in!

Self-Indulgence Incoming — 3…2…

I may be an idiot, but let’s not focus on that. I love the winter! There’s little else to discuss.

It does help me meditate.

-35 degrees

So what if I can’t feel, open, or close my hands for hours at a time? It only sucks when I really need to pee. So what if icicles begin forming along my forehead? The pain is good for me! And the first few minutes of frostbite are only of temporary damage.

Snowy sidewalks are a great workout for the legs! Icy sidewalks practice the balance.

In all honesty, I’ve recently purchased gloves, and pants without holes. That’s right! My ass is no longer frozen. You thought I was talking about knee holes? Not today, I wasn’t!

It was only my upper leg.

Winter Cloak

Last year, I wore a thick winter cloak. It was the tenth anniversary of these wintry trek experiences. But to wear it for another year, that would make me soft!

I also moved, and refuse to deal with that great lumbering thing on the heated busses to work.

Don’t Sweat

This country veers sharply between too hot, and too cold. I’ll take the one that hurts before even thinking of the one that makes me sweat in uncomfortable places.

We are in winter now; it probably won’t leave until May.

Choices

I’ve forced myself to become this way.

There was a time, a long decade ago, when only my love for another pushed me to face the extreme cold. Pain and discomfort were in no way my friends, but I carried them proudly to fulfill my purpose.

Then, years passed, my original purpose died, and the action took on its own meaning. Walking, especially walking in the cold, had suddenly become an addictive form of physical and mental training.

One can activate — or deactivate — any feeling within the brain, just a little fresh oxygen and the right direction of thought should do the trick.

Not that I’ve fully mastered it.

Yet!

But that’s enough of me. One must wonder what this winter has yet for us to see!!

This piece was created after reading the following poem and prompt by the Egg Queen herself, Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她) —

With the Canadian winter going on, I also wanted to write about the frostiness. My personal challenge quickly became to write about it without coming across as an ass — or an idiot.

Well, they might call me crazy, but I say I’m recalculating. Recalculating.

Recalculating.

I do enjoy making faces with a variety of eyes.

About the author:

🔍 Gustave Deresse (Lee Dupont) is a Métis-Canadian writer and musical artist whose primary themes of writing include, but aren’t limited to : spirituality, philosophy, relationships, humour, wellbeing, the weird, and — mandatorily — self development.

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This is me. ⬇️⬇️

You might also enjoy these —

— this depthuous poem, by sylvia wilde

— or this old piece, by Gustave Deresse

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Thank you for reading, and take care. 🙏 🙏 🙏 — G

P.S. Sooner or later, I tend to edit my pieces. Subscribe to my stories by email for the chance to catch my original works, wonkiness and all.