Combat the cold by thinking Goony

Indian Mounds Park this morning.

 

  THERE IS SOMETHING lucid and searing about a cold and pristine winter morning. We just got back from an Indian Mounds Park walk - the dogs love careening through the snow and it's not bad if you keep moving.

But ... the snow and the cold can get you down. Do what I do if you want to combat the winter blues - think about a Lake Michigan beach and Goony Races!

 

Roland Hart, my cousin, sent the above photo from about 10 years ago. I think Sheryl may have taken it. Roland’s father, the late Peter Hart, is my uncle. Peter and Helen Hart lived on a wooded dune above Lake Michigan, and we spent countless sun-drenched days on his beach between Saugatuck and Holland.

You can see Peter's grandchildren and others lined up, ready do the Goony Race. I invented it, more than 20 years ago. Peter is just to the right, egging us all on. We all lined up and charged as fast as we could into the waves of Lake Michigan, acting as silly and "goony" as possible. At the end, the silliest person won. It was always me.

Uncle Peter could be a serious man who tackled serious issues, like world peace and conflict resolution. But he also delighted in the absurd and he took great joy in ... joy. So the Goony Race was right up his alley.

I'm feeling the warmth of the sun from this golden day a decade ago. It's probably on a Labor Day weekend. It looks to be early afternoon. The grandkids had been begging for a Goony Race for a while. When you are on the beach and listening to the waves and having good family conversation, you took your time before unleashing Goony.

Of course, the cold beverages ("rivers of beer" as Peter called them) didn't hurt either. And by late August or early September, Lake Michigan was warm enough to swim in and cool enough to take the sting out of the summer sun.

You can see Peter laughing as we all head to the water. He didn't go in, of course. It was his way of pranking us. But I also think we wanted to see all the silliness and sheer childish joy unfolding in front of him. Who can blame him?

I'm already feeling warmer while starting out the window at the winter landscape.

The snow will melt and the air will get warmer and soon I'll be making plans to go to that beach to help spread Peter's ashes. Maybe I'll be a little Goony when I do it.

Think warmer Goony thoughts and we will get through these cold winter days. In other words ... Just. Keep. Going.