The Universe, God, A higher source, the powers that be or whatever you choose to call that element of being (not necessarily human or solo) that controls the heavens, tides and earth, does not have a sense of humor. I’m serious. I’ve stopped laughing. Is there gold or some precious metal in the north and northeast, for someone to change the course of weather so severely to see how many people will flee the area ? Because if this doesn’t get people to re-think their living situation, I’m not sure what will.
When I moved to the coast, it never snowed. It snowed up north and to the west of this area, but never on the coast. In fact, at the check-out at Trader Joe’s earlier this evening, this woman made a similar statement. And I told her, “that’s what I always thought. And then I moved here 4 years ago and 2 weeks later there was a major storm. An omen. I should have seen it as a warning, because every year since, we’ve had more coastal storms than I can ever remember.”
So imagine my surprise, when on my way to bed tonight, being a glutton for misery, I looked out the window, hoping to prove the forecast wrong. I was silently chanting that the weatherman was lying or had miscalculated.
But no, that bastard got it right again. There it was. The white stuff, coming down again. Well, I’m on strike. I’m not shoveling. I’ll dress in 14 layers if I have to and wear my boots to get through the snow, but I’m going to wait for it to melt. I’m not digging out anymore. I’ve reached maximum capacity.
I know why there are so many alcoholics in dark, cold, places. Too much time indoors. Cabin fever. Stir crazy. Brain crazy. Maybe too many days indoors has just plain made them crazy. Perhaps they are hoping to pass out and wake up in spring. It’s beginning to sound good to me. Not the passing out, but waking up in spring. I understand bears and hibernation a lot better.
This may sound like I’m going off the subject but stay with me on this. Last week, during one of our many weeks of freezing weather, I watched the movie Captain Phillips on pay TV. I had seen an interview with one of the Somali stars, nominated for best supporting actor. It was mentioned that when they were casting the movie, they wanted actual people from Somalia, so they went to one of the most populated areas of the country where they lived. Now hold your breath for this one. It’s Minnesota. Are you kidding ? No, I’m not. They went from a hot, tropical climate to one of the coldest and most northern states in our country ?
How the hell did they ever get there ? They can thank their Lutheran friends for that one. They brought them there. Many ended up with jobs at factories, housing was cheap and they were sponsored. So when you are new to an area or country and culture, the most natural thing to do would be to gravitate towards your own people. That’s just what they did. But can you even imagine the first time Fall fell into Winter, the thermometer dropped below freezing and they saw snow for the first time ? And then the second and then how it never let up till April ? They probably thought they had been drugged. Or maybe still, they may have thought Somalia wasn’t looking so bad after all. Certainly not the climate anyway. If this was their first year there, I feel really bad for them. You can just envision what they must have been thinking. I know what I’ve been thinking. I must be crazy along with everyone else, because even the birds are smart enough to know when to get out of dodge and when it’s safe enough to return.
aboomersvoice 