When I woke, I felt cold cast iron against my cheek; covering most of my supine form was a good four inches of pristine, featherweight snow. I shook myself to consciousness, put a ginger hand to the lattice of fire-escape that had imprinted itself on the left side of my face, and stood slowly to stomp it off.
In the distance, I heard the muffled sounds of what seemed to be a minor military skirmish: screams and hoots and thuds. It was, I was later told, the most epic snowball fight in the 200-year history of the college. Hundreds upon hundreds of well-oiled students, fresh from finishing finals and with energy to burn, had descended en masse onto the quad for a true battle royale. And I had missed it. I didn’t mind. I was happy enough not to look like Jack Torrance at the end of the Shining.
Lesson learned: No matter how much you think you can take, know your limits.
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This article originally appeared in the February 27, 1998 issue of the Boston Phoenix.
- Less
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