Olympia Snowwoman

It didn't snow at my house last night. Just rain. They got it higher up though, so we'll go in search of good skiing tomorrow. Meanwhile, back on the 'other' coast, my sister Janet was celebrating her birthday. Which one is not important. She is younger than I am.

What did she want to do for her birthday? Go to Bethel, Maine to see the giant snow woman. She sent me pictures. This is crazy. I googled it and found a ton of stories on Olympia. This one had pix of how she was built. And for those who don't know Maine politics, Olympia Snowe is the Republican senior Senator.

These Mainers are quite inventive during their long winters. Olympia is 122 feet tall, 10 feet taller than Angus, King of the Mountain (1999) who had the World's Tallest Snowman record in Guinness Book of World Records. Angus King was the governor of Maine at the time. Mainers (Mainiacs?) do have a great sense of humor. Olympia's eyelashes are SKIS. Her lips? Tractor tires painted red. Her black-lined eyes are also tractor tires, as are her buttons. She has a 6 foot long snowflake pendant, and an 8 foot orange painted 'carrot' nose. Her arms are pine trees.

It took 13 million pounds of snow, much of it artificial (it hasn't snowed THAT much in Maine), and all the spare snow they could plow up at the airport. The Bethel Chamber of Commerce spent $5000, but the labor and equipment were donated. And, if you're game, you can buy a raffle ticket in the melting pool. Guess what day Olympia will be totally melted. There can't even be a puddle. She's not expected to melt until May.

What does Olympia Snowe think of all this? "I have to say I've joked that it's just my luck I'd have a world record-breaking monument named after me - and it will be gone by summer."