One of these things . . .

is not like the other.

Are you fortunate enough to have a bit of Sesame Street in your background? I certainly am. And a song that keeps playing in my head is "One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong." It was a great guessing game while watching the program. It's just not so easy now.

It's not easy even if the topic is broadened to "similar and different." This gives the opportunity for a larger grouping, and with those two headings, everything could belong. It's definitely not so exclusionary! Whatever, whoever, you belong, you are in one of them.

Right now it is tough to keep up with the weather. One day it is spring. I remember what that is like; I know the checklist for a spring day. Bright, clear, Tarheel-blue sky, fluffy clouds, and of course the forsythia spreading cheer everywhere they've been allowed to root. And yes, we have had some of those days. Really magnificent. I don't understand how light is filtered differently in each of the seasons, but those days do lend an extra glow to even the most ordinary of buildings here.

Then there is the checklist for winter. And it is definitely different. Leaden skies, dense clouds that look like a dark tarp instead of individual formations, wind that whips around corners and seems to glue your feet to the cobblestones. And let's not forget the snow. Tiny flakes, huge flakes, gentle, or so heavy it is nearly impossible to see the buildings across the street.

There's a normal progression of things -- seasons follow each other, usually with a few days out of order to remind us what has been and what will come. Then there are the past few days. No normal progression with this! Read for a few minutes, then lift your eyes to a totally white world. Get on a tram feeling frozen, then get off a few stops later to brilliant sunshine. It has been amazing to watch.

I remember my first few years in NC hearing someone say "but this weather is really unusual" so often the phrase called attention to itself and made me wonder if a "usual" existed. And now - - - You guessed it! I'm hearing "this weather is really unusual" again. And I am off balance. The calendar says it is spring; the weather feels like the coldest yet, and it is definitely the most days of wind/snow for me. It "just doesn't belong."

There are always the moments when people seem to gravitate to one category or another. It is very difficult to forget the older man who fell getting onto a tram. Although Pragers will say of themselves they are very private, I will add they are also very polite, very helpful to those who need it, and appear either to withhold judgments or at least keep them private. As the man missed the step and stumbled over, three men immediately moved to help him. When it became apparent the fall was caused by way too much to drink, the assistance did not change. The same concern, the same care. It was easy to determine which behavior was "different". And the "similar" group is large: a quick response when help is needed -- a seat, a door, a little extra time.

And there are always the buildings! "Not like the others" is an understatement when used to describe the "Dancing House" at the edge of the Vlatava, just down the street from the Charles Bridge. (If you're curious, check out Dancing House on Wikipedia -- where else, of course, then click the first link for a 360 degree panoramic photo. It's awesome!). It was begun in 1992, has won architectural awards, and seems to be settling into the skyline and landscape just fine.

The Charles Bridge fits in both categories. It's definitely different -- one of a kind, almost mythic proportions to me. It's hard for my American mind/perspective to imagine taking for granted something which has been in place since the middle of the 14th century. And I still cannot walk over it without marveling at its past and being curious about its stories. At the same time it is similar -- it is just "one more bridge" over the river, altho' the only one with only foot traffic; its lines fit right into all the "newcomers" which surround it; and it is utilitarian -- a shortcut to get from one side to the other and a link between two very similar settings. Buildings which are centuries old inhabited by companies and people who are very much 21st century.

The list is endless -- so many little moments which jump into one group or another, then others which require considerable thought to find some semblance of order. Perhaps the grace and charm of "similar and different" is that we are allowed to move, sometimes seamlessly, sometimes not so easily, from one group to another, even if only in our own minds.

It's time to make sense of another day -- what is similar, what is different, and what are my choices.