Daydreams recall snow castles and soap - KPCnews.com

The recent Arctic blast that has all of our teeth chattering like a typewriter has evoked surprise. Why, it’s tip-toed upon us from the fact up to a few weeks ago, it was short-sleeve weather.

As I watched people from my newsroom window this week come and go from the Steuben County Courthouse and Jail, it sent me thinking.

I looked around in wonder like a child finding purpose.

Look closely and you’ll see beauty in the cold stillness when the wind dances and tussles a few stray leaves about.

There’s a woman bundled up with a scarf wrapped around her head trying to rush to the courthouse, only to face the fierce wind. She looks late for something.

A sheriff’s deputy leads a prisoner in a Cheeto-colored jumpsuit and shackles to the courthouse. Their breath hangs in the air like blankets.

Yes, it is a slow news day, but also a time to daydream, make plans and develop story ideas.

Sometimes, it helps when the world slows down to have such privilege.

The snow takes me back to fifth-grade and making our soap castles at H.H. Wiley Elementary School.

We gathered small boxes, empty rolls from toilet paper and paper toweling and attached them securely together in the shape of castles.

Next, the room mothers who volunteered and did everything — like my mom — took Tide soap and mixed it up until it had the consistency of cake batter. It needed to be rather gummy to work and not like soup.

The sweet smell of the Tide gods helped the janitors in making the school the cleanest it had been all year long.

The soap was taken and spread onto the naked boxes. Soon, it easily splashed on some kids.

A boy named Todd ended up with soap up his nose somehow and got sent to the school nurse, who was actually the school secretary.

We slopped that soap and laughed. Gloop, gloop, it went.

Glitter was next.

When you have a class of fifth-graders, don’t think they won’t flick glitter on themselves. It will end up everywhere. That’s a promise. After sprinkling glitter on our castles like confetti, it soon turned to being thrown on each other.

Todd, that boy with the soap in his nose problem? He soon also had glitter in his ears.

We added fake Christmas trees I thought looked like miniature toilet brushes.

Mom had a couple of little plastic deer that looked like they were bleating and in trouble I added to my castle.

Then we waited for our beautiful soap castles to dry. Waiting is pretty tough when you’re in fifth grade.

There is a message of beauty somewhere in all of that.

Stop. Look. Wait.

It’s there.

Listen.

Jennifer Decker is a Herald Republican reporter who’s hoping your holidays are beautiful and that you, dear reader, experience that every day. Drop her a line at jdecker@kpcmedia.com.

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