Winter Picnics

I moved to Key West after the worst winter in a hundred years (statistics).  As an adult, driving, I learned to dread winter.

But as a kid, I always loved the snow. I loved autumn more than spring. Leaves crunching underfoot, spicing the air with crisp-burnt smoke, carpeting the earth in moist soft piles for jumping.

Our mother used to take us on winter picnics. On a cold sunny day she'd cook up thermosfulls of chicken pot pie (no recipe here... they were frozen and delicious. I remember the savory taste, the creaminess of the sauce, steaming up to warm red cheeks and noses and hands. They never tasted quite as good at home.)

We'd go to Niag Park. I should remember how to spell it but I don't. It was voted one of the 10 top worst zoos in the nation, back in the 1980's I believe. The cages were small, painted vile green, and smelled of Spic N Span. I didn't even know that's what they smelled like, as I'd never used Spic n Span until I worked as a housecleaner after law school...oh, it smells like the zoo! Nay-aug.

I think they actually did have the animals out in the winter, but I'm not sure. I may be crossing summer and winter wires. Memories are like that.

The coal mine was mysterious and the ride was always broken. I wanted to go into the mine. I used to look forward to things like that. Instead of dreading everything. What turned me into such a chicken?

But the winter picnics were a blast. There were plenty of little hills for sleds. I can't recall specifics. The most vivid memory is opening that thermos and steaming my face with chicken pot pie.