January 3rd, 2025

 I didn’t have to be at the OakBrook Terrace Board of Trade until 8:30 yesterday morning.

Four times a year we have what we call a hard opening. No overnight markets trade on New Years, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It’s like it was in the olden days before computers and the internet opened the world up.

There was a time when the bond room opened trading at 7:20 in the morning and the grain room opened up 9:30.

Instead of waking up at 3:30 yesterday morning, I woke up at 4:45. It was lovely sleeping in.

I didn’t have to rush. I was able to make Georgie Boy a good breakfast and I didn’t need a flashlight when I walked over to Betty the Green Blazer.

I noticed a different world driving to work at 7:45am than I do when I leave at 4:50. The level of asshole is much higher later in the morning. Everyone is in a hurry to get to their shitty lives.

Don’t get me wrong… I flirt with the speed limit signs, but I’m not racing along changing lanes like Mario Andretti on the third turn in Indianapolis.

I enjoyed the luxury of the hard open and not worrying if a customer will come out of nowhere and want to sell a thousand put spreads in the middle of the night. I didn’t enjoy the stress it took to get out to the trading floor on Thursday.

The world is so much kinder and calmer before the sun reaches the shores of Lake Michigan.

At five in the morning, I can enjoy a peaceful trip.

The routine of life is just about to kick back into gear. The holiday season is over and the doldrums of winter are taking hold.

This is when we must reach deep and search for the wonder around us. The bitter cold brings beauty. There is also a lesson in humility with the frigid temperatures.

Standing at a urinal with cold hands reminds me to be humbler in life.

A strong reminder of the fragility of manhood.

My dad always washed his hands with warm water before and after he took a piss in winter. Now I know why….

The first Friday in 2025. Make mine a lasagna day. I put a goofy smile on the sun today. Maybe because it will be bright and beautiful, but my hands will still be cold.

My Gramma always said, “cold hands, warm heart.”

Go be astonished