Chris Clegg
I usually do not let the weather get to me. We live in the frozen north, so we have to expect a little cold.
The crazy weather the last week had pushed me over the edge, however. From seasonably cold, to -30C, to above freezing, back to -30C, then rain and wet snow.
I’ve had it! To heck with this! Bring on spring! Give me green grass and green leaves, and blooming flowers. Let me hear the Canada geese honk. It can’t come too soon!
It’s so cold the politicians have their hands in their own pockets instead of the taxpayers!
It’s so cold everyone is trying to steal Michael Jackson’s other glove.
It’s as cold as a sled dog’s snoot or a polar bear’s paw.
Perhaps it was the cold I fought all through late December and January that made me so grouchy. Many of you had it. It hangs on and hangs on and hangs on like a toothache.
I’m sure there have been other winters worse than this. In the early 1990s, we had a stretch where we didn’t get above -25C for three weeks. We lived through it. No harm done.
I remember fondly the days of my childhood. Some rather frosty days when it was -40F we were out on the driveway playing road hockey. It was never too cold, as long as there was no wind.
Today, it’s difficult to find any youth outside playing road hockey. For most, the only hockey game they are interested in is at the end of a joystick or remote control.
Oldtimers tell stories it was -50F and that was at midday when it warmed up. Next week, it will be -55F below. You know how the old guys exaggerate a bit for emphasis.
The lack of dealing with weather has nothing to do with kids being tougher years ago. It’s just we didn’t have the same recreation opportunities as kids today. With only one channel – and that was the CBC – it was get outside or – well, you get the drift.
Or fight with your sisters!
Seriously, everyone gets the winter blues at one time or another. Most of deal with it just fine. “Just a few more days and it will be over,” we convince ourselves.
Well, those who aren’t sick of cold weather and snow are more than happy to spend it on the ski hill or inside a fishing hut. They don several layers of clothing or have a fancy heater inside the hut, however.
The rest of us just stay inside.
Still, I enjoy the seasons. I enjoy parts of spring, summer, fall and winter. I love the variety each season brings from the warm spring winds to the cool fall evenings, to the toasty warm summer evenings and even a brisk winter day. It’s just that a little too much of the same thing is too much.
Besides, who are we to complain about a little snow? In other parts of the world there are hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes, and a myriad of wrath Mother Nature tosses around. We have it pretty good.
Hopefully, by the time this goes to press, it will have warmed up. Give me some warmth, give me some snow. I’ll gladly take to my snow shovel if it’s not too cold to freeze.
Please, just let up on the -25C garbage. Enough is enough!