Globex Corporation Newsletter

Now this is the Rapid City in January that I remember from my youth. As I type this it 57 degrees outside. Most of the snow is gone, there's mud everywhere and I can hear snow and ice falling off of my apartment building. We'll get another big snow this winter I'm sure. Maybe we'll even get another cold snap like this last one. All of that is fine. I still get to experience four seasons. As an added bonus, our winter is pretty mild, but we can get nice snowfalls like the one we got a couple of weeks ago.

I was one of those people who didn't think that experiencing four season was important. I've never liked the cold and figured that living in a place without winter would be a welcome change. That changed when I spent my first winter in southern California. I had no idea how many cues I took from my surroundings. My first Christmas there sort of snuck up on me, after all I hadn't had to scrape the ice off of my winshield or warm up my car for 15 minutes before heading to work. To make things worse, my apartment was primarily surrounded by palm trees. Palm trees don't lose their leaves (unless it's really windy, and then those fronds don't fall gently onto your car....) and keep their color year round.

Oddly, December in Long Beach, CA was probably the nicest month weather-wise. The air quality was generally better and the wind didn't seem to blow quite as much. I went kayaking in Alamitos Bay my first December in Long Beach. I'd throw on a pair of shorts and ride my bike along the beach. If it sounds like paradise, it was in a lot of ways. Sometimes you don't miss things until they're gone.

Last winter was my first winter back in the cold since '98-'99. When it's not an absolute necessity to get somewhere, I can't tell you how much fun it is to drive my Subaru in the snow. I know it's going to get me where I need to go. When a lot of people thought we were going to get snowed in at Cheers after an open mic last March, I knew my Subaru would get me home. I even stopped off for some munchies on the way home. Granted, I had to keep the vehicle moving, it's limited ground clearance meant I was pushing more snow than someone in a real 4X4 would.

Yesterday I spent the day with my dad and niece and he pulled us around on a sled behind his ATV. What a blast, even if my niece did get her lip stuck in her braces after a particularly spectacular crash. We were out there for hours, I got spun into the ditch a number of times, and my pants were so soaked that even putting them in front of the fire didn't dry them of for hours. As much fun as biking and kayaking was in December, I never got to ride on a sled in Long Beach. Maybe 'Monster Garage' will make some vehicle that creates a trail of snow behind it so you can pull a sled behind it........

BOJ