I’m always cold. My fingers turn white even in the summer.
Today was a nasty weather day. It hasn't been too bad lately. In Burlington, we’ve had very little snow. The ski areas are getting hit hard, which is good for tourism. We certainly want you crazy southerners to come here and spend all your money. We appreciate it.
But today, the temperature was about 20°. It seems like a couple weeks ago I was out fishing on the shores of Lake Champlain in shorts and a t-shirt. Not today. When you add in the fact that now gets dark before 4:00 PM, one knows that this is when the doldrums begin.
As the temperatures change, you realize that it's all relative. In April, when the thermometer hits 50°, it feels amazing. In September, however, when it gets to that same point, tears begin to form in the corners of my eyes.
But it’s my own fault. I grew up in Syracuse (the snow capital of the US) where it’s sunny less than one day a month from November until the end of March. Then I chose good old Oswego State for college. My junior year, we set the record for snowfall of 233” which for you non-Math majors is just shy of twenty feet. My kids have heard this story before. For six weeks in mid-winter, I couldn’t find my beloved cherry red 1968 Ford Falcon car as they stopped plowing our parking lot. But once again, I digress.
After Oswego, I decided to head to grad school at the University of Buffalo. You may have heard of Buffalo? It snows there a little bit. And wind? Holy schmolies! Right on Lake Erie and almost Lake Ontario, lake effect snow was a way of life.
In my second year at UB, I tore ligaments in my right ankle playing basketball. I had a cast on my leg for six weeks. As our house was miles from campus, I had to drive my car to get there. As it was my right foot, I had to drive left footed with my right foot sitting on top of the transmission. I also had to clean all the snow off my car while maneuvering around on crutches. Hey, I know how to have fun!
After graduation, I finally secured a job in New Hampshire. A lovely small town in the southwest corner of the state. It didn’t snow as much there but boy, was it cold! The bonus was that it was in a valley. In winter, it was dark by three o’clock in the afternoon and wicked cold. (Somebody help my find my SAD light!)
But it was a great little town and I had a large group of amazing friends. After several years, however, I decided one day that I had enough of the cold weather. My alarm went off for work and the radio came on. The weatherman gave the forecast. I remember it specifically. He said, “The temperature outside is minus twenty-five degrees with a high of minus nine.” I shook my head.
As I laid in bed with my electric blanket on ten, I started talking to myself. I think I said, “Patty, that’s enough.” Shortly thereafter I loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly, well, actually Charlotte, North Carolina.
The day I left Keene, there was a snowstorm which included over two and a half feet of snow. On the drive down, I slid off the road twice in Pennsylvania. The second time, a tractor trailer pulled over in front of me. I was stuck and was towing a small u-haul trailer behind me. The driver got out, hooked a chain from his vehicle to my car and pulled me out. I got out to thank him and he just pulled away. I’ll be eternally thankful to him as I might still be there now without his help.
When I finally pulled into my new apartment in sunny Charlotte, I looked at the temperature on my car’s dashboard. It was seventy-five degrees. I smiled. It was sunny and warm. There were flowers growing at my apartment complex. I was in heaven. Except for not having any friends, it was awesome.
I met new friends, of course, and four years later, met the woman who would become my lovely bride. In time, I asked her where she was from. She said Vermont. I think I knew then, that eventually, I would return to wonderful New England.
To be completely honest, the winters are long and cold here, but not too snowy though. My friend, Sue, says that we live in the ‘banana belt’ of Vermont and it’s true. As they live in central Vermont, they get five times the snow we do. We get way less snow than the rest of the state. Even today, with a huge snowstorm that covered the state, we got just a dusting and it melted already.
I love seeing the green grass. If I want to see snow, I can travel twenty miles east and see all I want. Even better, I can drop the ‘It’s A Wonderful Life” movie into the CD player (we still have one in the mancave.) and watch George run through the streets of Bedford Falls.
So, what was my point? Did I have a point?
Like George Bailey at the end of the movie, even though I’m always cold, and life is not perfect, I really do have a wonderful life.
I’m a lucky man. Cold but lucky.
Actually, the record was 269" in 1972; your year was 2nd or 3rd; I can't keep up. What I do remember is running into snowbanks on the way to a bowling tournament when I drove, and your car deciding it didn't want to totally cooperate when we were coming back from Buffalo after another tournament. Here's a link to the Oswego snowfall totals: https://www.extremeweatherwatch.com/cities/oswego/most-yearly-snow
It's fun to reminisce on both snowfall totals and temperature. I wouldn't have it any other way; I'm not crazy about temperatures much over 71°, and I'll admit derision and anguish when it hit -45° one day while living in Limestone, ME! The truth is it's always easier to warm up than to cool down; I'll take that any day of the week. :-)
Love the shout out to Syracuse! (There is no such thing as bad publicity!)
I share your preference for warmth, more so as I age (ugh!)
Happy Holidays!