I never saw snowfall as a child growing up in Southern California; it was more a phenomenon that I saw in cartoons or read in children’s books.
I did, however, witness my first ash-fall when I was in elementary school. I looked up into the clouded sky and saw specks of ash falling from it. Excited but puzzled, I looked to my elementary school teacher during recess and held out my hand. “Oh, that’s ash from the wildfires,” she said. At that time, I couldn’t comprehend how an enormous forest fire could create a small flurry of ash-flakes.
Now I have the ominous understanding that something so magical and beautiful comes from something so powerful and destructive.
Recording Notes
Texas Woman's University Wind Symphony, Carter Biggers cond. on "Walking on Shattered Glass" album
