What a great day, walking through the park with my camera after the ice storm!

After the ice storm

It was 1990. I was 23 and didn’t know myself yet. Who does at 23? College was about a year behind me; I had gone to work. Trying to figure out what it meant to be an adult, I mimicked what I saw growing up. My parents went to work come hell or high water, even when sick, even in treacherous weather. The ice storm had blown hard all night. The radio said that roads were dangerous. Dutifully, I drove to work anyway.

The trees sparkled, their bare, drooping branches coated in ice. How beautiful they were! I wanted to stop and look, not drive, not pay attention to the road. But keeping my car straight took all of my concentration.

Ice-laden power lines had snapped and lay in the streets. Power was out at the office. Dim light from distant windows lit my way past cubicles to the break room. There I found a few co-workers huddled around tables drinking gas-station coffee, shivering in their coats, hands around cups for warmth. A couple of them nodded at me when I entered; most stared blankly into their cups.

I stood there for a minute, uncertain. There would be no work until power returned. I wanted to be out among the trees. And then, impulsively, I did it: I left.

As I stepped quickly toward my car, I felt free, elated — and anxious. Would I be in trouble the next day? Could I be fired? But I was in all the way. Driving slowly, carefully toward home, I made my plan. I would stop at the drug store and buy film. I would walk the one block from home to Collett Park and photograph whatever I found glistening with ice.

After the ice storm

I walked carefully; the sidewalks were as slippery as the streets. When I stepped into the grass, it crunched under my feet.

After the ice storm

Growing up in South Bend, I was used to bitterly cold winters with heavy snow blowing in off Lake Michigan. Terre Haute’s relatively mild winters were so easy! But Terre Haute got about one ice storm each winter. I’d never encountered anything like it. Such joy I felt in the discovery that morning that every inch of a chain-link fence would be coated in ice, just as would an enormous slide on a playground.

After the ice storm

Ice dripped off horizontal surfaces. Had it thawed a little and refrozen? I wondered.

After the ice storm

On the playground, the chains on the swings were frozen solid. I pulled one of the chains and the ice broke at a weak point. I thought that was so cool that I operated my camera with one hand while I held the chain with the other.

After the ice storm

There would be no tennis this chilly day. Ice clung even to the net!

After the ice storm

I had no camera skills at 22 and didn’t know that my point-and-shoot camera couldn’t focus closely. My intended subject, the branch, was out of focus. But thankfully this miffed shot gave me this broad view of the park. I so enjoyed Collett Park. I walked up there all the time and took strolls, or sat on a bench and watched people go by.

After the ice storm

The sun came and went all morning. When it came, the ice in the trees lit up with a paradoxical warmth.

After the ice storm

The cold stung my hands, bare so they could work the camera. I suffered for as long as I could because I didn’t want this rare joy to end. But my hands finally went numb. This time would have to end. I walked back toward home, stopping at the top of my street to photograph the street sign and the tiny icicles hanging off it.

After the ice storm

Back home, I took one more shot, of stubby icicles hanging off the clothesline.

After the ice storm

What a great morning! Returning inside, I made some coffee, turned on the radio, and puttered around the house the rest of the day. I felt great peace and surprising satisfaction — until the next workday, where anxiety struck over the hooky I had played. But the boss never said a word. I heard that the power came back on too late the day before for any real work to get done anyway.

25 years have passed. Today I know that this day was so me. I didn’t then, and I’d like to go back now to that happy afternoon of puttering and have a chat with myself:

Middle-aged me: Young me, pay attention to today and learn from this. You had a great day! Why do you think that is?

Young me: I’m not sure. But the ice really captured my attention, and spending the morning taking pictures of it really energized me. I really hope those photos turn out! I don’t really know what I’m doing with a camera. But I wanted to remember what I saw today.

MAM: You will. Actually, you will never forget this day, in part because you will always have these photographs and every time you see them they will bring back all of the good feelings this day generated. Do you have any idea why today brought so much joy and pleasure?

YM: I don’t.

MAM: Young me, please listen carefully to this: You felt this joy and pleasure because this morning you were fully you. You went off by yourself to explore. You experienced something new to you. You tried to really see it, and you used a camera to do that. And so when you came home, you felt lighter and happier. You felt energized and more ready to go out into the world. Young me, know that going off by yourself is how you restore your energy. And you love to experience new things. And you do see things best through a camera’s viewfinder. And every photograph you take will catalog a memory you might have lost otherwise. Make time for this to happen regularly in your life.

YM: But film and developing are expensive. I don’t make very much money.

MAM: Budget for it. You will not regret it. When stress runs high, explore with your camera. When you’re lonely, explore with your camera. When you are all peopled out, explore with your camera. You will refresh yourself.

YM: But …how do I even say this? I’m the only person I know like this. I feel so weird and out of place.

MAM: I understand. I know you wish you cared about football or golf so you’d have something to talk about with the guys. But I want to urge you to pursue the things that make you happy anyway, and try not to care whether anybody else gets it. And know this: in time, you will find others who love to spend a morning out walking with their camera, too. They’ll enjoy looking at your photographs, and you’ll enjoy looking at theirs.

Alas, that conversation didn’t happen. I didn’t figure this out for another 20 years. I’m glad I did! But I would have liked to figure it out then.

When this blog was brand new in 2007, I wrote a post about these photos called “A good icing.” It was my fourth-ever post; read it here. That post used scans I had made from prints. When I scanned all of my negatives last year, these images looked startlingly better than the print scans. I thought I’d re-run “A good icing” with these new scans. But when I reviewed that old text I decided to start over and tell this story from a different perspective. 


Comments

31 responses to “What the ice storm could have taught me about myself”

  1. Kjell Arwe Rydén Avatar
    Kjell Arwe Rydén

    thanks for your wonderful story! it affected me strongly

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks for reading!

  2. bwc1976 Avatar
    bwc1976

    Great story! You could have stayed at work, but instead you built a great memory. They say nobody on their deathbed wishes they would have worked more.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I like to work, but what beauty lay outside! I didn’t want to miss it. And then when the power was out at work — my temptation to ditch got the better of me. And I’ve never regretted it.

  3. Robyn Weber Avatar

    My favorite photo was of the clothes line. I love the perspective. The text of your post put me right there — in the moment. It brightened my Monday morning considerably. Thank you.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I remember being disappointed in that shot when it came back from the processor because the part of the clothesline closest to the camera was out of focus. But now I’m just glad to have such an interesting shot, the only one I ever took of my back yard in that house.

      I’m especially glad for your feedback that my words and photos put you right there with me. That’s what I was going for!

  4. N.Douralas Avatar
    N.Douralas

    Thanks for inspiring us all. It’s important to look back and then push yourself forward in life.I am sure you are not the only one with that thoughts.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks Nikolaos! It’s interesting to look back and see who I was and am.

  5. dmswriter Avatar

    I like this one a lot, Jim – I could sense your enthusiasm for photography and the lessons you learned looking back. “Pursue things that make you happy anyway” is perfect. :)

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thank you! While the post is perhaps a little regretful that I didn’t figure this out about myself then, I’m certainly glad that I managed to figure it out later!

  6. hmunro Avatar
    hmunro

    Great post! Love your photos, and your “old self talks to younger self” narrative. But most of all I love the reminder to get out there and make the most of every day. Just wonderful.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks Heather! I even learned something while writing this: sometimes, break the rules.

  7. Jeb Avatar

    I love the way photography imprints life upon you so much more thoroughly than just passing through without seeing…….

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Yes! There’s something about framing the scene that helps me really see it.

  8. Joe shoots resurrected cameras Avatar

    Wow!

    Thanks for such great insight. This is an important message and I hope many young people will receive it for years to come.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      There’s more focus today on teaching young people to be who they are. That wasn’t so much the case in my day. Wish it was.

  9. susurrus Avatar

    I really enjoyed this post – what a difference there is between the two sets of pictures!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thank you! I made the print scans on an all-in-one printer-scanner and the negative scans on, believe it or not, one of those cheap negative/slide digitizer things. It did a better job than I ever expected, and was a darn sight faster than the Epson V300 flatbed scanner I have now.

  10. davidvanilla Avatar

    “You were fully you. You went off by yourself to explore.” Better to have learned this late than never to have learned it at all. Sadly, many people never get it and live always, “The world too much with [them].” Interesting pictures, excellent essay, and outstanding memories for you.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Yes, David, far better to discover it midlife than never. I think God made us to be fully ourselves because in so doing we serve him in the ways he made us to.

  11. […] Read the Article:What the ice storm could have taught me about myself. […]

  12. Rhianne (@forthedistractd) Avatar

    Jim, I’m so glad you commented on my blog and led me back here – this post is wonderful! I’m terrified of ice and slipping – so the idea of you doing this at first did not appeal but the more I read, the more I wish I had been able to do it with you haha. At the very least I will be taking a camera out with me at the weekend now and enjoying the day the way I like it – with a camera in hand!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks for scrolling back to this post! I put my heart into it and I’m glad it resonated with you.

  13. […] around Woodland Park, and take some pictures instead trying to tempt Fate once again (also, I had Jim Grey’s words rolling around in my head, I’m sure that influenced me).  It really was beautiful, and I […]

  14. -Nate Avatar
    -Nate

    12.24.16

    So well written ! .

    I try to teach your thoughts here to my Teenaged Foster boys .

    -Nate

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks so much, -Nate!

  15. Dan James Avatar

    Jim, I love this post, not just for the pictures of such unusual weather, but for the story behind it and especially your imaginary conversation between middle aged you and young you. I feel so very similar – I’ve always loved being off by myself wandering (usually in the woods) but it’s been relatively recently (last 10 years) that I’ve enjoyed the companionship of a camera too. I’d love to see you write more about why you photograph and how essential it is in your life.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Life is simply so much better when you know yourself and honor the way you’re made.

      These reflective posts take a ton of time and thought. And the ideas don’t always come. But when they do, I try to make time to work on them.

      1. dan james Avatar

        I think it’s these kind of deeper posts that make your blog stand out, and not be “just” another photography blog full of old camera reviews. That’s meant to be a big compliment Jim, I’m not sure how to phrase it better!

        1. Jim Grey Avatar

          Thanks Dan, so much. I do like to think deeply about these things and try to draw connections, and then write them in ways that connect with others. I wish more of these kinds of stories flowed more easily from within.

          1. dan james Avatar

            I think the more often you write like this (and your posts about your dad lately have been very open) the easier it will come. Like a river that was once a stream…

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