Martin Luther King Jr (MLK) Day

There were warnings of freezing rain. Although it is a hospital holiday today, I am on call. Black ice-covered driveway greeted my journey to the hospital for rounds. Roads were largely desolate. It was a while before I saw any car. Sky was gloomy and dark. Skidding here and swerving there, I reached the hospital. I rounded with a competent clinical fellow and we were done by the afternoon. I drove back home. As I was attempting ascend up the steep driveway to my garage, the car protested. On the ice, the car veered in wanton. It would slide to the right, glide to the left, drift backwards but not up. 

Defeated, as I waited at the bottom of the driveway for some brilliant idea to materialize, I could not escape the irony of this day. A day commemorating a man who sacrificed his life peacefully striving for racial justice. Today, it feels as if the world is back to square one. The West staggers in an amnesiac stupor, completely oblivious of its treacherous past, as if it is seeking a calamitous jolt. No wonder the day appears weepy. And the town frozen in its wistful tears. 

Over a pile of snow on the sidewalk adjoining the driveway, I made an attempt. One side of the car was on grass now.  Riding the crunchy friction, I made it to the top of the driveway. The vehicle will witness this blubbering night while I seek warmth with my family inside.