what do you say to THAT?

I am stunned as I type this.

This morning is a gorgeous winter morning. One of those uncommon New England winter mornings when a cloudless, cerulean sky presides over a snowy wonderland; the kind of morning whose beauty evaporates any ill mood in its scintillant brilliance. I had thought, as is my wont, to snap a photo of the view from our second floor balcony, try to capture a slice of this delight.

My housemate rose and exited his room. He, too, noticed the beauty of the day as he squinted out the windows--- what creature of flesh and blood could fail to do so? He asked if I had ever thought of taking a photo of such a view. Delightful! A common impulse independently blazed into two minds!

Then he went and said it. I still cannot grasp this minor fall from grace. How is it possible? And yet I know how. With all seriousness, with awe at this manifest beauty still evident in his voice, he said:

"It looks like a beer commercial."