3 am

the other night i was leaving work, walking briskly through the cold air. I could see my breath rise in swirls and, upon arriving at my car, saw that it was covered in a glaze of frost. this certainly wasn't a first, having spent every winter of my life in michigan. the first ice always brings the cold (no pun intended) realization that winter is once again on it's way. warm orange-glow days will slowly wilt to shades of gray, with winds from the arctic making their slow crawl to the metro area. snapbacks, tanks and low-tops traded for roll-ups, thermals and mids. this is the uniform of the persistant. truth be told, nothing's that much different when winter comes around, on those rarely seen days when the sidewalks dry and the windchill's icy grip more subtle in the deceiving sunlight. sure, you may have to do a little more seaching to find a spot worth the time (sweeping salt, lack of puddles, etc.), but they'll always be waiting there, bound to live out the rest of their days as the snow collects on top. I wonder how much time autumn has left...