As I mentioned in a previous blog, I live in Wisconsin. The summers here are very short, and this one is nearing its end. Any day now, the temperature will suddenly drop like a lead balloon and once again I will have no choice but to brace myself for a brief period of autumn, followed by six or seven months of winter. I'll put the deck furniture in storage. I'll roll up the garden hose and put it away. The shorts and flip-flops will be put into drawers and be replaced with jeans, socks, regular shoes, and sweatshirts. Those of the female gender aged from eighteen to fifty will be doing the same thing, and it won't be as enjoyable to see them out and about for awhile. Hey, at least I'm honest.
The coats that have been hanging in the closet for four months will soon become a part of my attire. Within forty-five days, the snow will start to fall, and water outside will freeze. I will have a miniature glacier in my driveway until May. My tires will crunch underneath the ice. My car will be covered with those hideous white road salt deposits and need to be washed two or three times a week. By December or January, it will be so cold outside that frostbite on unprotected skin could occur within minutes. Winter will linger on for four more months. Then, in April, we will get our annual "teaser" of warm weather that will last perhaps a week. Then, once again, the temperatures will plummet fifty degrees, and will not return to a hospitable level until late May or early June. Those not in the know will be pissed off. I know better. I have lived in this icebox for sixteen years. I was fortunate enough last November to spend a week in Orlando, Florida, and to this day, after experiencing the weather there at that time of year, it is completely baffling to me why anyone would choose to live in Wisconsin. Now, if only my wife and daughter felt the same way.....What about hurricanes, you ask? That thumb  must be 80 or 90 miles wide. I would simply avoid the coast.

Oh, one more thing: My book, Reunions, will soon have a redesigned cover. The old edition will be temporarily removed during this process, so to the few potential customers I may have, please be patient. The book will have a much more appealing look.