There she goes again, outside to undress the snowman. This happens every winter night, before they turn off the lights and go to sleep. The snowman's hat and scarf have to be taken inside the house, or the neighborhood kids might steal them.
There is some resentment over this ritual. Bernice thinks it would be nice if her husband would get up and do the undressing. After all, he's the one who made the snowman. He's the one who doesn't mind the cold weather. He's the one who insists they live in this bitter climate.
Earl would rather leave the snowman's hat and scarf outside overnight. They're not worth much anyway, and if a few wild youngsters keep him from having a snowman on his terms, then it's not worth having a snowman at all. He knows as well as she does that the hat and scarf will probably be stolen, but he would rather take that risk than live in fear.
After Bernice undresses the snowman, she can't help but bring up the subject of moving south. She would rather live in California or Arizona, where snowmen only exist a few days a year, if at all.
In Minnesota, a good snowman can survive for several months, if you can keep those hoodlum kids from practicing professional wrestling moves on him. Usually they knock him over with a jumping shoulder tackle or running clothesline maneuver. The most daring of adolescent maniacs will actually climb up on the porch railing and "jump off the top rope" to decapitate the snowman.
Putting the snowman back together again is a job Earl performs early in the morning, before Bernice wakes up. He doesn't want her to find out about the debilitating injuries inflicted on his handy work.
He loves that snowman like he loves her, in spite of certain obvious complications. He knows that everything melts away eventually, and you have to make the best out of what you have before it's gone.
He built this snowman for her, as she watched through the living room window. She made him put on a hat and scarf before he went out. She believes you have to protect what you love, even old snowmen.
Paul Lundgren is a newspaper columnist and a very nice man. His e-mail address is paul [at] geekprom.com.
