Anna Monica

Winter weathers delightful

It was a dark and stormy nightoh, no, wrong – that was Edgar Allen Poe. Actually it was a week of blustery and cold weather, the likes of which we have not seen for a few years. And, it delights me more than I can say. I really like the cold. When I was younger, I didn’t. But, when I was younger, the summers didn’t get so hot and the winters were even colder; you know that! As I have told you before, I can’t remember the last time I saw an icicle and as a kid, they were always hanging from our galvanized garage roof at home. It has also been a long time since I had a chance to walk over frozen puddles to crack the ice. It will, however, seem very dark and stormy when our gas and electric bills come in and “that ain’t no joke.” Remember how we almost passed out from shock in the last couple of months of the summer when our bills went sky-high. You would hardly believe what I paid having only two window units and only one going at a time. The central air people were worse, but for what I had, it was disgraceful. But, by comparison, when my (and your) next gas and electric bills for heating come in, the former will seem like only a walk in the park. For the majority of us, there is no government aid; simply a cutting down on our food bills, money for the kids’ education, clothing, etc. You know, the frivolities of life. If you haven’t noticed, when the demand goes up for anything, so does the price. It’s a fact of life, because the easiest, fastest way to make money is to get it from the people. As we gripe and complain, of course we get a lot of talk, explanations and excuses, but the result is the same n we pay. As I sit here gnawing on a wonderful, delicious raw turnip that my brother-in-law O’Neil grew and gave me (and, yes, I absolutely do love to eat raw turnips, especially when they have a “bite”), I am thinking about our recent weather in other terms as well. To be able wear sweats all day without tearing them off because it gets warm so quick; to sit cozily in a warm house reading, sewing, petting the dog, doing paperwork or whatever because it’s too cold to be outside n I find it heavenly. Eppie Jo and I did go for a walk last week in the biting cold, but we moved fast. The sky was overcast and the sweats, gloves and “ear muffins” felt good. There weren’t many people on the street and I did see a young lady put the garbage out and run back inside as fast as she could. Still, being in a familiar place I have known all my life represented warmth, in spite of the chill going up and down my spine. It is too bad, though, that we just missed the snow because the kids would have been so excited. On New Year’s eve, kids and adults were equally thrilled by a few flakes that everyone had gone outside to see in the glow of the street lights. It reminded me of a scene in the movie, Independence Day, where the crowd had gathered to welcome the space ship and everybody was looking up (before they got annihilated). I will always remember the look of our friend, Sheryl Schoen, relishing the moment and commenting “isn’t this something?” So do try to enjoy our winter, even if it means remembering our positively sweltering hot past summer. Try not to think of the forthcoming energy bills. After all, without the cold, my turnips would not have lasted this long on my back porch. Incidentally, I only eat them raw.