THE WINTER THAT REFUSED TO END

Anyone who lives in Minnesota will from this time on cherish those winters when it doesn’t snow until the day before Christmas. The winter of 2010-2011 will go down in history as the 3rd or 4th snowiest winter on record, depending on what happens in the upcoming weeks and counting on no snowfall in May. As for the snowiest winter on record, it was in 1983 to 1984 when the Twin Cities received 98.6 inches. It has been over 25 years since we have received these snow levels. Winters can be very stressful, with icy roads and snow, that make driving extremely difficult. Sometimes just getting to work in the morning feels like you are risking your life to get there. Now, if you are retired and don’t have to go anywhere, it’s not so bad because if it snows you can just stay home and wait until it quits. This year you would have been staying home a lot because it seems like it snowed almost every day! When it starts snowing in November and doesn’t quit until almost May 1st, it is a long, long winter. Minnesotans deal well with the snow, especially those who were born and raised here, but this year everyone could be heard complaining they’d had enough. I don’t know how people manage driving in the snow without a 4 wheel drive vehicle, I know I wouldn’t feel safe. Plus when you get a foot of snow, it really helps to have the higher ground clearance so you can get through the snow without getting stuck. Of course, some people really like the snow, like ski resorts, snowmobile dealers, and snow blower manufacturers, which I’m sure did very well financially this past winter. Snow for Christmas is one thing but when we are threatened with possible snow for the last days of April, it is to the point of unbearable. We have had five months of winter and snow! You may ask why we live here. I have already been here in Minnesota, the land of the Winter Arctic Freeze, way to long, and it is time to move on to browner pastures. Yes, I said brown as in the desert, like Arizona. It will be pushing it, but I may have a couple more winters ahead of me and then I’m heading for one of those retirement communities in Arizona. I just can’t take it anymore. And I really mean it this time! No more winters!! No kidding!!!