Snow Tastes Good

Snow is just frozen water, but it has its own smell, its own taste. I know because I used to eat snow. When you're a kid, there's something wonderful about licking a handful of puffy, sparkling white flakes. It's like eating glitter, only colder. I hardly know how to describe the taste, and can only say it tasted like minerals, like fresh, brilliant water. Maybe it absorbed the flavor of chimney smoke as people tried to stay warm during the biting Iowa winter.

Today, when I cleaned the five inches of perfect, virgin snow off my car after work, I resisted the urge to touch my tongue to the soft layers. Next time, I think I'll give in and see if snow still tastes the way I remember.