Winter Warmer....November 8, 1999

Winter Warmer....November 8, 1999

The icy, harsh grip of winter is on the horizon; the final, dying breaths of Autumn bring a facade of lifelessness that seems to permeate most living things in this corner of the planet.

Canadian winters are indeed butal.

It seems as though I notice the onset of winter most immediately after the time change. Somehow, even though there is only an hour difference, the days seem much shorter than just a week or so ago. I find myself looking nostailgically for foliage on the trees that is no longer there; the brilliance of fall leaves a multi-coloured carpet on a soon to be white and barren ground. The ever present, always looming clouds appear darker, more foreboding, and with a radical shift in temperature, they most surely are.

As I age, I find that our societal structure is just not conducive to making winter even remotely bearable. We rush outside in subzero temperatures to start our cars in the morning. We brave leaving a toasty car to rush into work to beat the cold. In seconds our extremities are chilled and numb. We then rush back to the car, this time not even having the opportunity to warm it up first, which it invaritably does not until about a hundred feet from the driveway. We finally rush back inside cursing the cold, feeling the warmth embrace us subtly, swearing that we will not be going outside again until morning.

If I had my way, we would all hibernate, snuggled cozily in our candle-lit homes, with plenty of rations and snuggle-bunnies to get us through the long, dark, freezing winter months.

Isn't that how things were, not too long ago?

Damn capitalism.

....Blessed Be...