Snow Job

I love Chicago, I really do. When I go anywhere else I get homesick after three days. I am a creature of habit and I need to be around things and places I know. Living in this city you have to deal with snow. Yesterday we got hit with 9 inches. What I love about this is that to a true hardened Chicagoan this should be nothing. Ya, it sucks to drive around in it but damn it, I wish people would quit whining about it already.

To all of the whiners here is a thought, if you don’t like snow and cold you might want to think about re-locating. Maybe move with all the other wimps to places like Phoenix or Dallas. All I heard this morning at work were people bitching about the commute. I want to say to them, it’s January and you live in Chicago, what do you expect, grow a dick and deal with it already.

Dealing with cold and snow makes one appreciate the spring and summer seasons all the more. First off, the snow really is picturesque. Driving around and looking around my neighborhood this morning, I saw some beautiful sites. Also, I like having four seasons. I love when the trees start blooming around here in April and that feeling the first day it hits 60. I circle the date when pitchers and catchers report to spring training. I look at it as a sign that spring is coming soon. You don’t get to feel that in Arizona.

Winter can bring people together. I saw a car stuck this morning and three guys were out there helping this lady out. My friend told me that he was all prepared to go home tonight and shovel and his wife called him to tell him that their neighbor had plowed his entire driveway. You just don’t get that type of bonding in the summer, well at least not in the burbs. The city is a whole other story.

There is one practice in the winter that I cannot stand and that is the practice of reserving places on the street by placing lawn furniture in them. I realize you just dug your way out of the snow and you feel you should be rewarded for that. Sorry, but that is city property. If you don’t like it then either move to the burbs or get a garage next time. The price you pay for city living is the lack of parking. What is worse is the mayor endorses such behavior. It is ugly and un-neighborly and sends the wrong message.

So, I say enjoy the snow. It will only be around a little while and then it will melt. Realize how lucky we are to have grown up with snow days, sledding, outdoor ice-skating and hot chocolate. Remember to embrace the elements. If you prepare for them they are really not that bad.