Here we are entering the last part of January already. The building across the street kitty corner had simple Christmas lights at the entrance of its courtyard. I enjoyed looking at them in the morning when I walked to Betty. They stopped turning them on this weekend.
Most homes and businesses have turned off their decorations. The warmth of the Christmas season has been extinguished. February is on the doorstep of what has been a mild winter in Chicagoland.
The record books show that January is the coldest and snowiest, but it’s February that always scares me. December has it’s Christmas warmth…. January, the newness of a fresh beginning. February is usually a prick tease stroked by the closeness of spring, but still held tight by the frigidness of Mother Nature.
Standing on the Ridgeland platform of the Lake Street elevated or walking across the Chicago River in February have bone chilling memories for me.
We still have a week and a half of January left and I’m bitching about February already. I need to remember that I only have twenty eight February’s left. Maybe it’s twenty seven, I lost count. Whatever gets me to 2051. February of 2051 should be my last one.
Shit… by then the cold thoughts of February 1989 or February 1997 might be fond memories. If we listen to Al Gore or that angry little Greta girl February in the 2050’s might be pool season.
Jeez, I open my curtains this morning and a half inch of snow has me doomed. The gray sky and snowy tree branches are a gorgeous backdrop. I need to enjoy my cup of coffee and the serenity of a snowy Sunday morning.
Mardi Gras and Saint Patrick’s Day are on the doorstep. Memorial Day will be here before we know it. Fireworks on the Fourth of July will soon fill the humid summer sky.
I hope we have more lightning bugs this year. Maybe a few victories down on thirty fifth street. It would be nice if my Speedo fits better in 2023. My thighs are still chaffed from last summer.
As for today…. Enjoy your football games. Enjoy a crockpot of comfort food. Scrape the ice off the windshield and go enjoy a winter day in the city by the lake.
