![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/plastic_snow_man.jpg?resize=212%2C318&ssl=1\")
California dwellers are crazy, surrounded by the dull pleasantness of green and gray office cubicles.\u00a0\u00a0Each evening\u2019s dinner is an open-topped cruise to a new bistro; the snow is plastic.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t pump anti-lock brakes.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m still not used to that.\u00a0\u00a0As my car skidded a bit across the December ice, I remembered to turn into the spin and bring it around straight again.\u00a0\u00a0Not so the driver behind me who began to fishtail before he remembered and corrected.<\/p>\n
And I found myself smiling, loving the cold, the wind, the black ice which hid itself against the 6:00 am pavement.\u00a0\u00a0Not more than a few weeks ago, the sun and humidity baked my air-conditioned-less classroom.\u00a0\u00a0The autumn oak leaves descended through a pre-Thanksgiving slush and immediately froze themselves to my lawn.\u00a0\u00a0The courtyard hardened before the spring bulbs could be planted; it will likely thaw in February and kill any flowers who foolishly pretend it\u2019s Michigan\u2019s two week long spring.<\/p>\n
California dwellers are crazy, surrounded by the dull pleasantness of green and gray office cubicles.\u00a0\u00a0Each evening\u2019s dinner is an open-topped cruise to a new bistro; the snow is plastic.<\/p>\n
No, no paradise for us.\u00a0\u00a0The desire for Eden\u2014which we mistake for bliss\u2014is simply and most importantly that: a desire.\u00a0\u00a0We mustn\u2019t have it, but we must experience the merest hints of it.\u00a0It\u2019s enough for me to know that California exists and that I will never live there, that a long weekend is only a few weeks ahead, or that I may some night achieve more than seven hours of sleep.\u00a0\u00a0Complete Chaos deprives us of hope; Order is interminably boring.<\/p>\n
An unexpected patch of black ice reminds me that I\u2019m not in control, that there is always change, always danger, always living to do.\u00a0\u00a0Every story we cling to is the same, from the swordplay of Siegfried to the intrigue between Marcie and Ramsey on\u00a0One Life to Live<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0The best literature, the mythic literature, strikes a balance between drama and respite, though.\u00a0\u00a0It offers the adventure with strategically paced reprieves, moments for just enough reflection to understand the value of the chaos.\u00a0\u00a0Achilles laments his lost \u201csquire\u201d during the siege on Troy; Arthur establishes a Roundtable code of chivalry so it may be corrupted; Clark trades a few love-struck moments with Lois before Lex Luthor draws him away.<\/p>\n As I struggle with a recalcitrant furnace (which currently heats only 2\/3 of my home), surge through piles of permission slips for a New Orleans trip, and rehearse a twisted (and hated) marimba part for upcoming concerts, I have hints of something better.\u00a0\u00a0I can imagine what my home will be when the renovation is complete; I can share an hour of tea with a friend; and my cat will occasionally attempt to curl up in my lap (though I sit no place long enough to content it).\u00a0Occasionally I even remember what it must be like to write, truly write. . . .<\/p>\n It\u2014whatever\u00a0it<\/em>\u00a0is\u2014will never\u2014never<\/em><\/strong>\u2014all be done.\u00a0\u00a0And Michigan will dump ice and wind over us again.\u00a0\u00a0We should want nothing else, neither paradise nor consistency in life or art.<\/p>\n We await the Happily Ever, but that always ends the story . . . until the next dark winter sequel,\u00a0Michigan Ice: With a Vengeance<\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You don\u2019t pump anti-lock brakes.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m still not used to that.\u00a0\u00a0As my car skidded a bit across the December ice, I remembered to turn into the spin and bring it around straight again.\u00a0\u00a0Not so the driver behind me who began to fishtail before he remembered and corrected. And I found myself smiling, loving the cold, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[247,248,385],"tags":[409,410,411,412,413,414,415],"class_list":["post-815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chizblog","category-culture-criticism","category-mythology","tag-achilles","tag-arthur","tag-die-hard","tag-eden","tag-michigan","tag-superman","tag-winter"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/12\/black-ice.jpg?fit=401%2C299&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1744,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/american-road-trip-1-iowa-to-michigan\/","url_meta":{"origin":815,"position":0},"title":"American Road Trip 1: Iowa to Michigan","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2009 Aug 7","format":false,"excerpt":"Day Sixteen: Iowa to Michigan Before leaving Iowa, I had two important stops. The first was at Cedar Rock, a Frank Lloyd house that he imagined was a modest suburban home. I knew a little about Wright's style and personality, but I had no idea how particular he was to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ChizBlog"","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/080809_0335_AmericanRoa1.jpg?fit=319%2C209&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1629,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/accepting-responsibility\/","url_meta":{"origin":815,"position":1},"title":"Accepting Responsibility","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2008 Jun 1","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent most of Saturday watching the Democratic National Committee Rules Committee debate the fate of Michigan and Florida\u2019s democratic primary delegates.\u00a0\u00a0I know, I know\u2014for many of us, watching my toenails grow may have been more entertaining. Nevertheless, I am fascinated by election processes.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m proud of the RO Model UN\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ChizBlog"","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/08\/votes.jpg?fit=448%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":787,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/cold-buckets\/","url_meta":{"origin":815,"position":2},"title":"Cold Buckets of Charity","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2014 Aug 25","format":false,"excerpt":"The internet's claim that the Ice Bucket Challenge is \"ubiquitous\" is understatement, but the use of the term implies its over-reach, its annoying domination. True enough, within hours of its seizure of FaceBook and Twitter, Vine and YouTube, critics of the social\u00a0movement rose in efforts to shout it down, using\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ChizBlog"","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/082614_0334_ColdBuckets6.jpg?fit=390%2C290&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":818,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/iceland-in-the-dark-day-two-11908\/","url_meta":{"origin":815,"position":3},"title":"Iceland in the Dark, Day Two: 1\/19\/08","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2008 Jan 20","format":false,"excerpt":"We left the Blue Lagoon geothermal pools to meet the most vicious wind I have ever encountered. Truly I felt that my cheeks were being carved by ice\u2014we could hide nowhere, find nothing to block it. It sliced through ears and clothes, sealed our nostrils and froze our eyes. Only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ChizBlog"","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/01\/blue-lagoon1.jpg?fit=452%2C301&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":821,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/the-buffers-of-new-orleans\/","url_meta":{"origin":815,"position":4},"title":"The Buffers of New Orleans","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2008 Feb 21","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the last week or so I\u2019ve been thinking about what I wanted to write of New Orleans.\u00a0\u00a0Thirty months following the storm, over 4000 homes are still untouched.\u00a0\u00a0FEMA trailers are toxic. The media has all but quit talking about it.\u00a0\u00a0Brad Pitt builds a few show homes well out of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ChizBlog"","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/nola-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":819,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/iceland-in-the-dark-day-three-12008\/","url_meta":{"origin":815,"position":5},"title":"Iceland in the Dark, Day Three: 1\/20\/08","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2008 Jan 21","format":false,"excerpt":"If Iceland were to be pulled apart, it might happen at \u00deingvellir, the crux of the European and American tectonic plates, the divide of the world. Here Iceland stretches, at the rate of about 1\u201d per year, dropping the bottom of valley about half that distance. Oddly, it is also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ChizBlog"","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/01\/thor2.jpg?fit=452%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=815"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1568,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions\/1568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/achilles.jpg?resize=222%2C156&ssl=1\")
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\u00a0![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/superman.jpg?resize=111%2C160&ssl=1\")
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<\/p>\n
\nIn this way the pattern of living and the pattern of art are alike.\u00a0\u00a0John McClane\u2019s adventures are not art in that he does little but \u201cdie hard\u201d for 120 minute stretches.\u00a0\u00a0We enjoy the films as cheap thrills to break up our own dramas; they are brainless respite.\u00a0\u00a0But we are moved by the novels of Erdrich or Coetzee, writers who understand the need for chaos, the promise only of order.<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/IceStormCar1.jpg?w=1080&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n