The Similkameen News Leader
Editorial
January 12, 2010
WEATHERING THE WEATHER
I'm not big on winter.
It is easily my least favourite time of year as it usually includes shorter days, colder temperatures and that rather annoying white stuff.
But I chose to try to earn a living here, so I manage but I do grumble a lot make that a lot more than the average person about how much I dislike winter.
I never thought I'd see the day where waking up to a frost-free morning would be cause for celebration, but for me any morning I don't have to scrape the car windows or start the car in order to warm it up is a bonus.
Especially in the middle of winter.
I dislike wearing winter boots, layers of clothes, a winter jacket and gloves and the sight of that annoying white stuff.
Sure, it's all pretty and magical as it drifts down from the heavens but once it becomes a drift in my driveway I have to dig out of it loses a lot of it's magic. And I don't buy the line about how a fresh snowfall makes everything look so bright and clean.
If I hear that one more time I'm going to throw a snow shovel at someone.
A fresh snowfall to me means more work digging out the driveway and playing that wonderful winter game I like to call Find The Garbage Can After The Road Has Been Ploughed' which in itself is more of a scavenger hunt than an enjoyable experience.
This happens to be the time of year I discover a lot of things I wish I didn't have to know.
First, it pains me to admit I don't own snow shovels. I own snow pushers, which, by the way, are not really very good at that.
Second, about two good dumps of snow into winter I realize I don't remember when I stored the snow pushers and gloves and scarves and toques and rest of the stuff I gladly stored away when the summer gear came out.
This is also the time of year I discover I'm not as good at physics as I thought I was. I may as well include math because I never can equate the proper braking distance when traveling half the posted speed limit just before hitting a patch of black ice and sailing past the intersection I was trying to turn at.
For me, just about the only good thing about winter is knowing that it only lasts a few weeks thanks to climate change and guys like me contributing to it by spending thirty extra minutes in the driveway scraping windows while the car warms up.
And don't get me started on the work out the furnace gets this time of year.
At least when Brenda was having hot flashes our utility bill actually went down.
Oh, how I hate winter!
