It snowed last night. It was the first snow fall of the season. So today I'm wondering, "why the crap do I live somewhere that gets cold?" I usually spend the first half of every winter pondering that question.
I just don't get it. It doesn't make sense. I live in a place where for half of the year it's uncomfortable to go outside. I suppose I, like most other people, live somewhere in the vicinity of where my ancestors settled. So why did our ancestors settle in cold places?
Of the 13 original colonies, only 3 were in the south. Here's the real kicker--Florida wasn't one of the original colonies! What were those Puritans thinking? Were Florida's sandy beaches and palm trees too extravagant for them to claim it? A life by the Boston Harbor where temperatures linger in single digits for several months was more preferred?
I know Christopher Columbus landed somewhere in the Bahamas. What did he tell all the Europeans when he got back? "Oh, we found some all right places, but if you guys go north when you make your pilgrimage to the New World you won't have to deal with all the mangoes and exotic birds and lush, tropical vegetation."
Whatever the case, they did settle in cold places and so now many of us have to deal with nasty winters. However, I'm still confused/bothered by those around me that are so chipper about the winter months.
"Oh, the fresh snow is so beautiful," and "it's nice to get a break from the heat" are phrases I often hear. Snow looks OK, I guess, but the knowledge that it's cold once you walk into it turns me off fast enough. Besides, it ends up looking brown and dirty by the end of the day anyway.
And I don't see how people would rather have it cold outside than hot outside. Your fingers don't get sore and numb when it's a hot day. And I've never had to spend the first five minutes of my morning letting my car run while I scrape the windows because it was a warm day.
Furthermore, the winter optimists around me lose all credibility because they still go on vacation to warm places. In January they take off to places like Cancun, Orlando, and Las Vegas. Show me a winter enthusiast that escapes to Fargo, ND in the middle of winter and then I'll be convinced.
I understand San Diego is already jam packed with people in my line of thinking. Plus a 1/2 bedroom, 1/2 bathroom apartment there costs as much as a the whole state of Wyoming does. So one of these years I'll just have to go settle in some little corner of the Amazon or the Sahara. The heat won't bother me, but the spiders or the dust storms might take some getting used to.
Photo: http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2007/12/23-week/
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4 comments:
One word- Alligators. Wearing a coat is nothing compared to trying to retrieve your severed leg from the bottom of a swamp. Then the hurricanes. Perhaps the most compelling reason to settle in cold places, however, is that when two people are stuck indoors for several months out of the year, even a rough, smelly settler man might get some lovin.
One of your better articles.
I was thinking the same thing this morning when I was scraping my windshield. "Am I really doing this again?"
I can't blame the pilgrims for settling in New England, though. As someone who lived there for two years, I can tell you without a doubt that New England is the best place in the world to suppress carnal feelings and live a pious life. Not to mention burn witches.
Sorry, can't help you much there Rock. I do often say I don't like the cold unless there is snow but Utah is generally pretty good for that. I enjoy all the seasons. I'd have to admit I do prefer the warm to the cold but I appreciate it more after a cold winter. Don't tear that last sentence apart and add it to your post.
I love warm. Being an optimist, I look for the good in winter, but I'll take spring and summer over winter any day.
Let's convince the family to move to the tropics.
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