All right! Which is worse, the continuing deep freeze or the occasional snow that weather forecasters like to report as a “trace”  if it’s less than half a foot?

Since my commute to the office has shrunk to one flight of stairs down to the rec-room where my computer and desk are waiting every morning, the weather shouldn’t really worry me much anymore.

However, when I have to actually leave the house and cover or photograph an event, I prefer the frigid cold to slipping and sliding on four wheels.

With those temps dropping to 10 and 20 below, plus that feared and hated wind chill, a new adventure has been facing us.....the dreaded frozen water main.

It is getting to the point of panic every time I spot a city truck somewhere on our street. We’ve stocked up with gallons of  bottled water and filled the bathtub so many times, the dog thinks we’re giving her a hint to use a little soap more often.

And, even worse, people actually complain about hearing complaints. How many times have you been told, “What are you doing in Wisconsin if you can’t handle ice and snow?” I can answer that. I came for July, August, and September, but nobody ever told me about those nasty months.

Actually, where I came from, the  “jewel of Lake Michigan,” they have something called “lake effect snow” that really should be ruled illegal by the National Weather Service.

More than once, I have abandoned my car on the Kennedy Expressway after being overcome by the only avalanches I’ve ever seen without a mountain around. The first thing you do when exiting on foot via the nearest ramp is to locate a street sign so you have some bearings when you eventually come back the next day with help to search for your buried car. By the way, it doesn’t matter if the ramp is “on” or “off” because the only vehicles moving are snowmobiles and their drivers couldn’t care less!

Wouldn’t it be educational if, at least once, every local driver could enjoy one of those Chicago experiences, and every Chicagoan could add a spinout on Wildcat Mountain to their resume? I’m half way there, but I think I will take a pass on the rest of the challenge!

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The only way to handle “short term memory loss” is to try to joke about it, because it eventually happens to all seniors. More and more I am greeting old friends at the Post Office with the wrong name. My doctor told me, in so many words. “Welcome to the club!”

Here’s a wonderful joke sent to me by a high school buddy who is one month older than me and usually doesn’t let me forget it.

A senior couple had dinner at another couple’s house and, after eating, the wives left the table and went into the kitchen.

The two gentlemen were talking , and one said, “Last night, we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great. I would recommend it very highly.”

The other man said, “What is the name of the restaurant?”
The first man thought and thought and finally said, “What’s the name of that flower you give to someone you love? You know, the one that is red and has thorns.”

His friend replied, “Do you mean a rose?”

“Yes, that’s the one,” answered the man with the memory lapse.

He then turned toward the kitchen and yelled, “Rose, what’s the name of that restaurant we went to last night?”

Happy Valentine’s Day to my loving and understanding Rose.....and to yours!