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Snow Day

Dear Diary:

It was late September and I had been a cancer patient for about three months. Brain tumors, neurosurgery and radiation therapy had rendered me wobbly and unbalanced. I was only able to enjoy my daily walks with a pair of hiking poles, which apparently made me look as though I was cross-country skiing on pavement.

I say this because as I was out walking one sunny morning, a city sanitation truck slowed down beside me.

The driver leaned out the window.

“Where’s the snow?” he said. He and his partner laughed and then drove off. Their mockery made me angry.

A short while later, I stopped at a deli for a bottle of water. There, on the checkout line, were the sanitation workers, coffee and breakfast in hand.