After a few days of sloppy snow
and slush underfoot, and a warm breeze, winter has finally returned. Unlike
many of my neighbors, I am relieved that it is winter once again. I like
winter, especially in February, when it is supposed
to be winter in northern North America. Virtually all of my “February
memories” involve snow, and cold winds. In this kind of weather, I feel at
home. Oh, yes, it is cold. This morning at 6:00 AM, the outside thermometer
told me it was -19 C. But there was a brisk southerly wind blowing. With wind
chill, it felt like -26 or -30C. My feet were cold, my hands got cold, my face
was numb…but it was home: winter!
One of the other reasons I like
winter in February is because “spring” in February reminds me of El Niño, the
ocean wind that periodically disrupts North American weather, reminding us of
the progress of global warming. I would rather have winter in February than in
April, as sometime happen. That ruins trees, crops flowers…life in general, so
far as I’m concerned. How about you? Do you have similar experiences where you
live? Do you have similar…or opposite feelings about February weather?
Where I live, in central Alberta,
in Canada – a very conservative part of the country – there are still people
who question the reality of global warming. Even if they are willing to accept
its reality, there are some who deny any human involvement in it. It is all just
a natural process, “the way God wants it to be.”
Because of the availability of
jobs in “the oil patch,” as our local people call it, many people, employed by
oil companies, are paid very good salaries – often far more than they could
earn elsewhere in the area. This accounts, at least partially, for the number
of couples and families that “go south” each winter. A few older couples go to
Yuma, Arizona, or Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for as long as three months. Most,
however, make a one or two-week visit in January or February. Imagine the
personal suffering they must endure when arriving home from such a warm respite
to a day like today: bright, windy and -15 C!
Although workers in this part of
Alberta are so well paid, I am told by those familiar with the financial field,
that many, if not most, carry a heavy debt load. The lifestyle urged upon young
families here involved winter vacations, “fifth wheels” – huge mobile living
quarters that are hauled around by large pickup trucks - and large and
expensive houses. Affluence has its
price, and when higher interest rates finally come, many of these families will
be in financial distress, unable to make their monthly payments. Another form of winter….
It’s always wiser in a volatile financial
climate to live smaller rather than “large.”
But that is a message that many in this region don’t want to hear.
No comments:
Post a Comment