With holidays behind us – including Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's – and winter settles in, we in the "Four Seasons Belt" are reminded once again of the degree to which cold weather and snow can affect our lives. However, we also look on the other side of things.
Here's to the four seasons! We have the beauty of autumn leaves, the brisk air during the football season, the fresh snowfall, and the eager waiting for June, July and August, when truly, "Summertime and the livin’ is easy."
Our autumns and springs constantly remind us of the cycles of life – be it a bird, a flower, an insect or the birth-death cycle of humanity itself.
You live where you live for family and friends and for your job – and a fireplace isn't bad, even if you don't have "chestnuts roasting on the open fire." My wife and I have lived in New York and presently New Jersey, and before that I in Pennsylvania and my wife in Connecticut. Our son and daughter and grandchildren live near us. We live in an adult community, and snowfalls are taken care of by hired firms that clear our driveways and streets.
Don't misunderstand me; I'm not advocating that your next move be to an igloo. Winters can be very harsh. You don't need a meteorologist to tell you that.
We do have a substantial number of snowbirds in our community, who spend their winters in Florida and other sunbelt states. Again, don't get me wrong; if you can afford it, it's a way to have the best of varying climates at varying times. If I could afford it, I would like apartments in San Diego, London and a remote Caribbean isle – to name a few. (Remember that, Santa!) Periodically we have taken cruises to the Caribbean during the winter.
Some 500 years or so ago, a 53-year-old Spanish explorer was looking for the Fountain of Youth – whose fabled water was supposed to restore youth and health. His ship didn't sail in our area. Instead, he discovered a place now called Florida. The explorer, Ponce de Leon, never did find the fountain and he died eight years later. But countless people since have enjoyed the winter climate there.
As a kid, I remember my mom bundled me up including galoshes, and that I moved stiffly. And I also remember sledding down small hills on the nearby golf course.
As a young man on the open, bitter-cold deck of a Navy destroyer in the winter during the Korean War, you were repeatedly warned about letting any wet skin touch the ship's freezing-cold metal, or you could lose a few layers of your hide.
Quite a while ago, while still working on Long Island, I was driving my boss's rented Cadillac on a back road and suddenly skidded on patches of black ice and rammed into a tree. I was taken by ambulance to a hospital and fortunately only needed some stitches in my head.
When we lived in our home on Long Island, we had a beautiful apple tree in our backyard. During the winter and a heavy, freezing rain, the ground around the tree became frozen with ice. Our kids discovered that it was fine for ice-skating – and soon kids from all over our block were enjoying our ice rink.
Some sunbelt memories include competing in race-walking in the Senior Olympics at the University of Arizona's sports facilities during the month of May. It was hot – especially for track and field events, with the temperature in the 90s. As I lined up for my event, the race starter said to me, "Don't worry, it's dry heat." I smiled and said, "So is an oven." He grinned and fired the start pistol.
My brother and his wife had lived in Utah, and during some winter months they rented a home in Palm Desert, California. We visited them periodically and truly enjoyed it. The weather was delightful and you could swim in the outdoor pool. And it even seemed magical that in the warmth we were surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
One wonders if young kids in sunbelt states ever think about what Santa Claus's sled is for. Dressed in warm red gear, including boots, would Santa use a reindeer-pulled sleigh to get to their homes?
No need to get real. Wherever you live, have a happy and healthy year!
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