One of my younger gym friends showed up for our small group session after being MIA for a while. When we ribbed her about it, she responded that she just didn’t feel like coming, that she was suffering from the winter doldrums. That was in late January.
Now, it’s March, and it’s important to “Beware the Ides of March,” something Julius Caesar failed to do before being assassinated on March 15, 44 B.C. Since Caesar’s time, March, in general, has carried that stigma of doom and gloom, the end of the winter doldrums. For my friend and many others, March can sometimes be the toughest month of all.
Winter can be difficult—especially if enough snow doesn’t cover the ground for outdoor sports like downhill and cross-country skiing, or in contrast, too much snow makes it difficult to get out and about. Add to that, short days, less sunshine and just the unpredictable nature of winter, and by the time March finally rolls around, many of us have slinked into depressive states.
These doldrums are much more than imagined—they might often be bouts of Seasonal Affective Disorder and/or just plain depression, both of which are well documented as occurring between January and March.
March is that fickle month that hints at spring before slapping us back into winter. Crocuses and daffodils peek out under snow, robins pick about the brush, and we get tricked into thinking spring is on the way. Talk about playing with emotions.
Four years ago, COVID-19 added to the cruelty of an already difficult month when lockdowns began around the country on—you guessed it, March 15, the Ides of March (by the way, Ides merely means middle of the month). With renewed cases of COVID this winter, the apprehension of that time remains lodged in recent memory.
Enough of that. I have some ideas about how to beat the March doldrums that involve two of my favorite activities, walking and reading—but don’t try to do them at the same time.*
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A neighbor mentioned that she and her husband enjoyed exploring local college campuses during the early days of the pandemic. While college campuses are always open to the public for walking, when classes are in session, sidewalks can get congested. That makes March the perfect month to explore some local campuses.
Most colleges take spring break in early- to mid-March before the calendar yet says spring. While students are off vacationing someplace sunny and warm or rejuvenating in the comfort of their childhood bedrooms, locals can take over campus walkways, which unlike some bike paths and wooded trails, should be cleared of snow and ice.
Locally, these colleges are on break March 2-10: Lebanon Valley College in Annville, all Penn State campuses (Harrisburg campus in Middletown, York campus, Mont Alto, University Park, etc.), Millersville University, and Elizabethtown College. These colleges are on hiatus March 9-17: Dickinson College in Carlisle, Gettysburg College, Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Messiah College in Grantville, and all Harrisburg Area Community College campuses, including the lovely main campus at Wildwood that connects to Wildwood Park. York College has two mini-vacations: Winter from Feb. 29-March 3 and Spring from March 29-April 1.
Strolling the campuses on break can be a bit like exploring a deserted town with plenty of time to stop and take everything in. Millersville’s campus is centered around a pond with resident swans, and features the new Lombardo Welcome Center, the first zero energy building on campus. On the mostly brick F&M campus, a “Winter Visual Arts Building” designed by the renowned firm Steven Holl Architects and opened in 2020 contrasts a light and elevated style with a white raised pavilion-style building.
Lebanon Valley College is a tiny campus nestled within the town of Annville, but its athletic fields are sprawling. An eye-pleasing span of suspension wires supports a pedestrian bridge over Route 934 so walkers can get from fields and buildings to the baseball fields on the other side. Student parking sits in the middle of a field, but features a lit, paved path to the rest of campus.
Like many of these smaller Central PA colleges, Dickinson and Elizabethtown sit adjacent to downtowns that feature shops and restaurants. Dickinson’s limestone buildings and grassy areas are a pleasant place to wander by LEED certified buildings, including The Treehouse, which is the Center for Sustainable Living on the campus. Students who live here try to practice sustainable living methods such as hand-push lawn mowers, a clothes drying room in lieu of a dryer and using food soon to spoil to create family-style meals. Elizabethtown’s campus is more spread out with large grassy swaths and ponds, yet still compact enough to get around easily.
A visit to the Penn State Harrisburg might surprise those who haven’t visited the campus in the last decade as it has greatly expanded with a number of new buildings. The original Olmsted Building, which had been part of the Olmsted Air Force base, has undergone many transformations and remains a busy hub of campus life, but the buildings emanating out from it have multiplied. A student dorm village lies east of Olmsted, while south features a new student enrichment center and west of that, an educational-activities building. The new Middletown Amtrak station is located directly across the road from Nittany Village student housing complex on the south end of campus, making Lancaster, Philly, and beyond within easy reach. The campus sits on the edge of town with many quiet roads to walk along.
The Wildwood campus of Harrisburg Area Community College features well maintained gardens. The 215-acre campus flaunts annual flowers, big flower pots, a conifer collection, a rose garden, a fern glen, and more than 900 trees. The Carillon Garden features a pond, a clock tower, mixed plantings, and a lovely carillon that chimes regularly across campus. A 40-foot-diameter labyrinth offers calm refuge to busy students. HACC connects by a path along Industrial Road to Wildwood Park as well, offering lush vegetation, wildlife, and wetlands. It is a birdwatching destination.
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One of my favorite ways to wait out depressing weather is to bury my nose in a book that takes me to faraway places and situations. Libraries offer staff favorites, the New York Times updates bestsellers weekly and reviews new releases, and local bookstores not only have featured tables and make great suggestions, but they also often bring in visiting authors promoting their new books, often for free non-ticketed events (some are ticketed, however).
The Midtown Scholar on 3rd Street in Harrisburg is a must visit for its cozy vibes, labyrinth of interconnected specialty book rooms, coffee shop, tables to visit and study at, and author visits. I’ve seen a myriad of writers here over the years including well-known names like Salmon Rushdie, Fredrik Backman and James McBride. In late January, I had just read about the debut novel, Martyr!, by a young Iranian-American writer named Kaveh Akbar. He was interviewed at the Midtown Scholar four days after his new novel came out by Joseph Earl Thomas, also an award-winning writer, who is Director of Programs for Blue Stoop in Philadelphia.
Midtown Scholar generally features one writer interviewing another about their book, then takes questions from the audience. It’s a great two-for-one package. Akbar read the beginning pages of his book, then talked pointedly about his addictions and recovery, the idea of dying without making a difference, and how it all figures into his provocative bestseller.
Another way to get a book fix is to travel to book festivals (the Midtown Scholar held one in the fall that brought several top authors to town). By the time this blog comes out, I will have visited a neighbor who has a home in Hilton Head, SC, so that I can join her at the Savannah Book Festival that brings together more than 35 authors headlined by Ruth Ware, Jeannette Walls, and David Grann. I’m looking forward to hearing John Berendt, Alice McDermott, and Jayne Anne Phillips among others.
A quick Google of book festivals reveals many others within a day’s drive. The Virginia Festival of the Book takes place March 19-23 in Charlottesville, VA, featuring a long roster of writers including Walls and Roxanne Gay. Many speakers are free at book events.
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If you can’t get away for a tropical pick-me-up during March, books, walks, and other local activities might be the best way to help push through to sunnier, warmer days.
Don’t forget St. Patrick’s Day events—parades in Harrisburg and York, pub events, Irish dance events, and concerts. The Dropkick Murphys, an American celtic punk band, plays at Freedom Hall in Lancaster on March 5 (and at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College on March 8). Getting your green on always lifts spirits.
March also marks the return of light. Daylight Savings Time will brighten the ends of our days beginning at 2 a.m. March 10, and the Spring Equinox is celebrated on March 21 – this marks the beginning of spring with more light than darkness.
Pony up to buy some cheery yellow daffodils to sit on your desk, and before you know it, spring really will be here.
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* Please walk safely without distraction from cell phones because pedestrian deaths are increasing. A multitude of reasons exist (including distracted and/or drunk drivers, larger vehicles, and distracted walking). Research conducted by the University of British Columbia found that phone use by pedestrians makes them four times more likely to disregard traffic rules, ignore crossing signals, or step into the road unsafely. According to the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, more than 7,500 pedestrians were killed while walking on U.S. roads in 2022 (the latest year in the reports) — 186 died on Pennsylvania roads.
For other book festival ideas, go to https://book-publicist.com/top-book-fairs-and-festivals-for-authors-2024/ For more on Midtown Scholar events, go to https://www.midtownscholar.com
