Wonderful!

As has been previously noted in this blog, I am one who enjoys winter; I like the cold, I like the snow.

I know writing this when we’ve had a rather brisk week and on a day when the snow and cold made driving a bit of a challenge may not be well-received. I left my car in the North Side, caught the trolley, and walked home. It made me feel very Viking-like. I put on flannel.

Folks, we live in the Northeast, we should have winters, and significant accumulations of snow, and cold temperatures. As a kid, I remember spending the day sled riding down the old road, playing in snow drifts that were up to my waist, and running alongside my Dad as he ran the snow blower so the plume of snow would hit me. I like this winter stuff!

I spent six winters in Erie and it was grand! My first winter there, the city set a record for snow; the natives took it all in stride and one adopted the attitude that in a city that frequently got snowfalls in the double-digits, a snowstorm that brought six inches was considered a dusting.

As you dig-out and hunker down, I share this quote from Garrison Keillor:

Growing up in a place that has winter, you learn to avoid self-pity. Winter is not a personal experience; everybody else is as cold as you, so you shouldn’t complain about it too much. You learn this as a kid, coming home crying from the cold, and Mother looks down and says, “It’s only a little frostbite. You’re okay.” And thus you learn to be okay. What’s done is done. Get over it. Drink your coffee. It’s not the best you’ll ever get but it’s good enough.

Winter is wonderful!

sj