'How is the river still running when it is this cold?'

'How is the river still running when it is this cold?' a woman asked the man beside her on the Bow River pathway. Both were in long coats, both staring at the water. He said, 'Chinook,' the way you would name a relative. She nodded as if that settled it. I looked at the river too, still moving and a little brown, and thought about water more than I normally do. Then I walked on, slightly warmer.