Veteran New Englanders insist on the glories of four seasons. One would think that includes the fortitude to revel in a hefty batch of snow in the winter and a healthy drip of perspiration in the summer and yet, we regard the ideal of cold and heat extremities to be the mild ones. The star-studded Genesis players we study at close range as we reach winter are far from mild. Abraham and Sarah, Rebecca and Rachel, Jacob and Joseph are among the most opinionated and aggressive and stand tall characters in any literature. Today, it is politically correct to be mild.
Youngsters prefer the mild parent or teacher.
We all prefer mild disruptions in our routine when care may be required for an older parent or commitment to a community project. Life, character, career options, loyalties call more for concentration and work and investment of energy, not for mild doses and expectations. Mild may be a bonus occasionally. To make it a norm can be dangerous. No one wants to be frenzied by blizzards until April starts to unfreeze the solid ground beneath our feet.