Third House on the Right - On Snow, Emerson, and Jazz Pianists

My dear, dear readers,

Despite my gratitude for the resultant snow days, I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the snow that fell. It was dry and powdery, impossible to really work with. Snowball fights are pretty lame when you can't get the snow to pack into anything resembling a legitimate snowball. Nevertheless, I appreciated the snow, even if only to walk in it. One of my favorite things to do after the snow has stopped coming down is to go out and walk through the freshly fallen snow. I'm not sure I could explain it, but I get a great deal of pleasure from simply walking through fresh powder, the deeper the better. Snow is winter's only redeeming feature.

I was also disappointed with Ralph Waldo Emerson. Having never read anything of his, I approached his work with some anticipation. That anticipation was not merited. His writing is beautiful, that is sure; however, I couldn't help but get the sense that Emerson skimped on philosophic clarity for greater literary effect. And in some sense, Emerson was not a philosopher at all. Perhaps instead he could be called a "moral teacher" or an "exhorter to virtue". Regardless of what he is called, I would have appreciated from him something more than vague phrases about our connectedness, the honor inherent in physical labor, or the necesity of learning from a gloriously beautiful nature. Why should I give a hoot about my connection with the man on the street if he doesn't give a hoot about me? Why should I engage in harsh physical labor if I can pay somebody else to do it for me? What does nature, beautiful though it is, provide for me other than the resources I can extract from it?

Emerson's view of the importance of the individual is intriguing, however. He returns often to the individual as the essence of the whole, that is, as a distillation of humanity. A human, thus, is complete within himself - he need no other to tell him how or why a thing is done, or what the truth is after all. (Sounds like Thoreau: "One man and the truth constitutes a majority.") The laborer becomes Man Laboring, the scholar becomes Man Thinking, etc. What Emerson does not (or at least hasn't yet in my readings) resolved is why the Individual is so important within his Transcendental framework.

On a lighter note, I have discover Oscar Peterson and Red Garland, two marvelous jazz pianists. I am enjoying their work immensely.

Yours,
Mr. Windsor

P.S. When listening to jazz piano I would drink darjeeling or, if you're the greener type, some oolong, a happy medium of black and green tea.