Winter Blues and Whites

My part-time winter job as a chimneysweep hasn't been going well. Just too much blasted snow on the roofs. In addition, of the few houses on which I was hired to work, four had their chimneys jammed not merely with soot but with items such as boxes of shoes, purses, etc. from the housewives who were hiding stuff from their husbands; three other chimneys were packed with old fireworks, some used but some dangerously still alive; and two others actually had in them the dead bodies of distant relatives who had come home for a surprise visit dressed like Santa Claus and with a chimney descent planned.

On the other hand, Seine is enjoying some good news despite its snowstorms. It seems that Quebec City, which celebrates its annual Bonhomme Winter Festival, envied the amount of snow and ice which my Delaware region has been receiving. Those wacky Frenchmen bought tons of the white stuff from us for their festival. Neighbor Emory and I almost broke our backs helping shovel the precious payload for deportation, and we made ourselves a little pocket money. Looks as if I won't have to go choking down any chimneys for a while.