Spring teased us a couple of weeks ago. And then winter dropped it’s britches and showed us who’s boss. Now spring is teasing us again. And with it seasonal shifts, moods like heart-sway, people all tied up and wondering where it’s headed next.

Headed to Troy, New York.

In between, in that cold-hard week of reality that shut the Northeast down real good, I passed through Troy, a town suffering some post-thaw re-freezing that had things pretty well stained. Funny how things sag after hefty ice and thaw, ice and thaw. Here’s some video to prove it -



I’m sure I must have driven through Troy at some other point in my life. It’s not the kind of place that you’d expect to hold in the head. Not like it’s big neighbor, Albany, a mass of concrete and official blahblah that you’re forced to remember and recite as a child.

Troy is striking in it’s mundanity. There’s this really awesome factory right as you enter town, perched on the Hudson River. It’s yellow and stands out, even on the most muted days. Can’t manage to read it’s name as I pass. Couple turns and I’m gone, don’t even stop for some refreshment.

But man, Troy. Something sticks with me and I can’t place it. There’s real heart to be found in-between winter and spring, in Northern towns, holdings of once-was prosperity now living museums of modern struggle and transition. We’re all from places like Troy. Smyrna Mills. Worcester. Salisbury. Patchogue. Carbondale.

Anticipation bends. Spring hopes eternal. Welcome to Spring. Just passing through.