sign of the times

Elliot was eating his breakfast, reading his Dr. Seuss, humming gently to himself -- when he suddenly straightened up, turned his head sharply to the side, and peered intently out the window through the crack in the blinds. The sharp intake of breath further indicated that he had spotted something unusual, like a rare tropical bird or possibly a poor neighbor in the process of being mugged. It was a few moments before he could transmit his astonishment into words -- but raising his finger toward the skies above the apartments on the opposite side of the street, he gasped: "Daddy! I see the sun!"

It must be winter in Amsterdam. What a rare and welcome sight the sun can be -- Apollo riding his chariot back through unfamiliar territory above the land of the low skies.