"Winter strikes quick in these parts..."

Hello, February!

And to celebrate the season, the Midwest is donning its best white attire and heading out with every intention of dancing the night away to a deep, bone chilling wind track (because everyone knows that the best entrance comes complete with an audio cue).  With any luck, she'll be the bell of the ball and woo someone charming, and warm, like New Zealand or Easter Island.

Personally, I am celebrating the season by nearing the end of my current read, Jeff Smith's graphic novel, Bone.  This classic tale of adventure is a first time thrill for me, and I am amazed at how quickly I've been able to digest 300 page chunks of the whopping 1332 page, multi-book, complete volume.  This should not come as too much of a surprise, I suppose, considering the primarily visual nature of the book, but its still a testament to Smith's storytelling prowess, nonetheless.

The end is now in sight, with only 263 pages to go, and as I find myself setting down the epic more frequently to prolong the inevitable, I can't help but be reminded of a page in the very first chapter of book one, Out from Boneville.  It actually came to me today, at work, amidst all of the talk of impending snow-doom and the prediction of accumulations up to 3 inches per hour.

The moment (and really, that's ALL that it is in the story), takes place at the end of the first chapter, as our hero, Fone Bone, meets some unexpected acquaintances in the unfamiliar territory of The Valley.  At this point in the story, the season is fall, and Fone is warned by a rather comically large (or is he?) bug that "winter strikes quick in these parts..." so he had better hit the road quick, or he will be stuck in the area...which certainly wouldn't be good.  Not long after this conversation (probably about 20 minutes, story-time), Fone can be seen walking hurriedly through the woods in search of water and an escape route, mumbling about the onslaught of winter and snow, when the following scene takes place.

Bone by Jeff Smith - p. 38 of Out from Boneville

I think most of Northeastern Illinois was envisioning this sort of epic downfall at about 3pm today, and its probably a pretty good thing that we were disappointed.  But good things (or at least cold things) come to those who wait, because now, at the ripe 'ole hour of 10pm, we have full on white-out conditions, and I am happy to report that I cannot fully see the liquor store that makes up the back wall to my back yard, not more than 50 feet away from my kitchen windows.  Thank you, winter.  Thank you, and goodnight.