Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!!

Friends, Loved Ones and Other,

Well, the Christmas season has descended onto Sherwin Street with a vengeance. Unless you've been in a hole somewhere's, you've seen the footage or heard the news on the radio, CHICAGO IS BURIED UNDER SNOW! Or so they say.

I've been in the city and there is a LOT of snow. In some places, over two feet deep. And let me tell you, friends and neighbors, you haven't really lived until you've waded into a snow drift up to mid-thigh and looked down to see a smooth sheen of silky white ahead of you. Gives a person pause, it does! Especially when you see your dogs leash going into that very same snowdrift and moving around in it.

Yes, friends, the one person (?) who is really enjoying the deep, deep snow is Everyone's Favorite Basset Hound, Maggie! She is having a great time. Potty time is approached with a renewed sense of joy! Now, instead of just pottying, we run and hop and dig and sniff and sneeze and wag our tales and burrow and hop and jump in the air for no apparent reason! She loves it. I've taken Maggie into the long enclosed walkway on the side of our building and released her from her leash and she runs back and forth, hopping like a rabbit, over the deeper snow drifts. With each Tremendous (for a Basset) Leap, Her ears flop straight up in the air and she really does look sort of rabbitish. Back and forth, back and forth! She wore a trench along side the building, that the maintenance man used to anchor his shoveled pathway. We didn't even get a thank you!

But, when I'm not hopping and whooping to encourage the dog, I have to occasionally go out in the snow to do things like work and shop for Christmas presents. As you would expect, the trains are running slower. My hour long ride to work, took me an hour and forty-five minutes today. but the heart of this big, bustling city has taken it all in stride. No one complains when you are late in weather like this, usually because they had the same trouble coming in themselves. It's just understood. I have learned the Chicago Natives Code of Understanding, (feel free to use this whenever you feel appropriate). When someone tells you that they were late, because of the trains, you look down and shake your head, slowly, and say "The trains. The trains. " Over and over, a few times to yourself. Then clap the other person on the back and go back to work. This, seemingly, nonsensical ritual establishes a bond between speakers and assures the tardy individual that all is well. Sometimes, being late is okay.

My big, beautiful city fears no snowstorm. Instead, she dusts off the snowplows and sprinkles salt and sand and grit to provide traction and she shovels the snow into huge piles at the corner and she moves on. It's really a sight to behold.

Monday, when the snow was strongest, we were released from work early. It was a strong snowstorm. Snowflakes were so big, that you could feel them hitting you in the back of the head and shoulders. Like, fat, quarter sized snowballs, they smacked into you at incredible speeds. The snow was thick, too. Visibility was down, at some times, to less than ten feet ahead of you.

So, when we were sent home early, people rejoiced. Better than the feeling of school being closed, it was more like school was called off, midday. Even better! I chose that day to go to the License Bureau and got my official Illinois drivers license. A great time to go, because the place was deserted. It took me all of twenty minutes and one written test. So, now I carry an Illinois License. It is actually a good picture. I'm not smiling like a retard that's just discovered his first erection. Instead, I look serious, vaguely dangerous. Which is exactly the message I want to send to the cops. Or do I? Too late now. Ask to see it, when next we meet.

Also, tonight, we bought our first Chicago Christmas Tree. She's slightly taller than me and full and round. Currently, she's home to three strands of multicolored lights and two dozen ornaments. Tomorrow, we add a few more lights and a few more ornaments. Then, she'll be done. But, we shoved her right in the window, where the whole world can see her. If you're in the neighborhood, drive by and look up at her. See if she isn't the prettiest tree, you've ever seen. It's really pretty and everyone chipped in to her decoration. Now, I have to wrap my presents and all will be ready for the Holiday Season. I have only a few more presents to get and I will be done. I started shopping early, and it has definitely paid off.

Well, I am going to sign off. I have to take a shower and hit the sack. I have a full day of filing ahead of me. Woo-hoo!

Before I go, though, here's a new joke, I just heard today. If you already know this one, don't spoil it for the others.

Question: What do you call a midget, psychic on the run for committing a crime? Answer: A Small, Medium at Large!

HA! I love THAT one! Midgets kill me! I'm still laughing at THAT one!

Be well,
Bundle Up,
and Write Often,
Mr.B