.2B -The Michigan Daily Weeken a --ne-Thursday, November 21,996
0 0
i~sound and Fury
G OT BOOT
Snow is a good thing.
This is something that I will not say
n two months, perhaps, when I am
rapped under a 13-foot snowdrift in the
:orthwest end of the Diag, hut for now,
[ think, snow is a good thing. I web-
~omed the first snowfall last week.
Just why is snow a good thing, you ask?
For one reason, the snow spurs some
Afthe best stories around. Often in thes
stories snow becomes a central symbol,
representative of a variety of things -
purity, isolation, innocence, death. In
ether stories, the snow sets the scene: A
twirling blizzard foreshadows later
emotional chaos; a soft snow shower
sets a tone of sadness; a sledding scene
sTHEN LET IT SNOW:"
By DEAN BAKOPOULOS
fills us with happiness, necessary tosaeihf
Here are some recommendations for Fittingly titled, "Hes tche may be one ¢i...?i'::Y iv}-}".i-::}"}::' ii}i ::r:;}}i:.
snowbound reading: of thesdetsoe vrwitn he sdettoisvr BnThtale :?:>. }y?}}i:k':}j::;}":-:":...:.......... ..j :.'j}:::::' ".4 .v .;:i:%
One of my favorite stories, Anton of an old man who has just died, youd be
Chko' "erahe; opens with a advised not to read this one while battling
scene of snow (this is a passage from A. a case of the midwinier blues. But you :j
Yarmolinsky's translation): should read it, and it doea read even better
Evening Twilight. Large flakes of wet in the middle of winter atrggles with a fire, you can almost feel story deals heavily with the power and
snow are circling lazily about the street Perhaps one of the most famous snow the grcat Canadia wind hitting your violence of nature. This is a good thing
lamps which have been lighted, settling stories is Jack London's "To Build A flesh. At one point in the story the protag- to read if you find yourself wallowing in
in a thin soft layer on roofs, horses' Fire" While London is sometimes a onist finally gets a fire going, and you self-pity because you have to walk so
backs, peoples' shoulders, caps. Iona clumsy writer, this story is one of the best seem to feel warmer as you read. Until Angell Hall in three measley snowy
Potapov, the cabby, is all white like a around. In it, a man strnded in the Yukon this scene under the spruce te inches.
ghost. As hunched as a living body can tries desperately to build a fire as he waits High up in the tree one bough capsized Some other classic snow stories
be, he sits on the box without stirring. If out the night. He knows that without a fire its load of snow This fell ont boughs would include F Scott Fitzgerald's
a whole snowdrift were to fall on him, he is sure to freeze to death. The stor beneath, capsizing them. This process "Winter Dreams" and Hemingway's
even then, perhaps, he would not find it glistens with suspense and as the man continued, spreadinig out and involving masterpiece of short fiction "The
the whole tree. It grew like an avalanche, Snows of Kilimanjaro." Sherwood
____________________________________ and it descended wsithouit warning upon Anderson's "Winesburg, Ohio" relies
the man and thefire and thefire was blot- heavily on snow as a symbol for isola-
* ted out! Whiere it burned iwas a niantle of tion and loneliness in his classic tales of
fresh and disordered snows. midwestemn life. Finally, J.D. Salinger's
IbA Common to London's writing, this See BOOKS, Page 13B
*The Michigan Dai eeken~ a ' - ursd V,November 21, 190 - 58
INJC mm nt Feature A .4ks x
Taet h ce:tAnn Arbor, .'U'
offer varityof pacestgld
By Melanie Cohen leamn-to-skate classes, high school hockey team practice, men'
Daily Aucs Wnite and women's club hockey team practice, and the varsity hock-
As it becomes painfully cold to be outside in Ann Arbor, ey team practices.. plays here;'Golding said. "Every day we 1A.
many students enjoy exerting their energ at the ice nink. have a wide vaniety of people in the arena"°?
While streets that were once overcrowded with in-line skaters Golding said that many people come so skate and have fun
may seem barren, iee rinks such as Yost Arena are filling up. and that the excitement of skating has become more pro
Although ice skating us possible indoors throughout the nounced by the success of the hockey team.
entire year, LSA sophomore Sarah King, like many other "People seem to take great enjoyment in skating - espe
people, visits the skating rinks when is is cold outside. cially on the ice of the hockey champions. Last Thursday,
'The cold weather inspires me.. to skate;' King said. "I over 200 people came for public skating;' Golding said.
just took mylittle sub from Project Outreach iee skating with The Ann Arbor Ice Cube is another skating rink in the area.
me at Yost. Isis so convenient and we had such a good time 'We get a fair share of U-M students;' said assistant general
that I wsill certainly do it again . manager of the Cube, Kris Crowley.
Andrew Golding, a Kinesiology sophomore and an icra at In addition to the Cube, Ann Arbor offers she Bohr Park Ice
Yost Arena, said that bad weather, cold and snow means bet- Rink for skating. Both are, howvever, a car ride away.
Icr business and more people for public skating at Yost Arena. Whether it's the Cube, Buhr Park, or the University's own
Golding said that there are many ice activities offered at Yost. Yost Arena, there are plenty of places so exercise your abilityt
°tntArena ., ,r nwir t,- ,,tn,, ,'ever-y ,i.,, f the- week. to ut u the ice. S;
SLEDDING
Continued from Page 4B
does create a problem during heavy serving times
because it's very difficult to keep fully stocked,"
Dining Service Manager Bill Mathiak reported.
Mathiak added, "If (students) do bring the trays
back, wse find them lurking in various parts of the
building and maintenance brings them back"
Once you've chosen your trusty Rosebud and
recruited other adrenaline-seeking companions,
ORC is sponsoring a trip to Michig:in's north woods
you'll need a place to prove your prowess. Some way down."
students prefer sledding in Nichols Arboretum, as Besides the Arb, students use whatever they can
the Arb's beautiful, steep hills are also ripe for sled- to satiate their sledding urges. The hill behind
ding just after a snowfall. Stockwell residence hall is known to offer a more
Although the sign in front of the Arb clearly states, mellow experience, while the slope at North
"No Sledding," that doesn't deter many sledders Campus by the Art Building is also used by sled-
from thrashing their way through the park anyway7 'ders. People have even been-sighted-rying to coast
"I can see why it would be illegal because they down Hill Street after a blizzard.
have a lot of rare plants," said LSA sophomore If Ann Arbor's version of sledding sounds too
Randy Howder. "But I went last year and it was a tame, you might want to check out what the Outdoor
lot of fun. If you start at Geddes, you can go all the Recreation Center has planned. From Jan. 3-7, the
ORC is sponsoring a trip to Michigan's north woods
to give interested students an opportunity to "mush"
a dogsled team. Participants will learn about har-
nessing, driving, and caring for teams. The $635 fee
includes transportation, instruction and food.
Sledding can keep Jack Frost from ruining your
winter. The feeling you get when you are lying at
the bottom of the hill, collapsed in a broken heap
against a tree is hard to re-create. You have upset
the landscape. You have fought the hill and won.
You have tamed the beast.
i