du går tillbaka till 70-tal i dessa delar, och du kan återställa konton av folks som en gång åker skridskor C&O-kanalen som inte är lång efter för € för ¬â för tacksägelseâ⠂ i en stund, även för. A native Washingtonian, I was raised to appreciate the change in seasons. Now, though, I’m not noticing much change. We seem to transition merely from temperate to scalding hot.

And it’s that trial of Washington in late June, July, and August that makes this Danielle Briere winter all the more maddening to me. I walk most days to my neighborhood Metro station, a jaunt of nearly 30 minutes, and in our oven summers I try and depart before the sun rises to scorch our skin. As I walk, praying for aiding breeze (that hardly ever comes), I preoccupy my thoughts with images of an Ice Age in D.C. I actually delight in the fact that on my August walks to work I’m literally the only Washingtonian deep in thought about Zambonis and ice rink warming rooms and whether the summer’s softer ice of my Northern Virginia beer league means I should adjust the hollow on my blades from 5/16 to 3/8 of an inch.

It’s not that I don’t like Ocean City in the summer  I quite do  it’s just that to get through summer here in the city I often have to think about the Rimouski Oceanic. If there is reincarnation, I want to come back as Mr. Freeze.

This will definitely come as news to our newsmen and women in town, but cold hard freezes  even prolonged ones  are actually good for nature and good for the human beings living in them. Freezes kill molds and bacteria, and Washington ranks among the worst of allergy regions. As our winters have Carolina-ed area allergists have made a killing. But in defending winter, I’ve long made an even more basic argument: in deep chill one can always add layers and bring aid to one’s discomfort, but in our Code Red malaise, who wants to snuggle?

I guess what has me so upset is that more folks around here aren’t upset like me. I’ll tell you how bad it’s gotten for me: in my mother’s home on Christmas I logged on to her computer, went to Yahoo’s home page and of course was instantly confronted by the worrisome weather data for D.C. So I switched the locale for my Yahoo page, seeking an injection of vicarious winter at Christmas. I chose Winnipeg.

It was a balmy 17 degrees there then.

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Posted at 12:13 am. Filed under Media, Pond Hockey, Shinny, Washington Capitals.
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8 Comments

  1. Empty Maybe wrote:

    Amen.

    Friday, December 29, 2006 at 9:22 am | Permalink
  2. GoBucks9 wrote:

    Oh my god yes! Its not winter when I can walk my dog at night in a tee shirt.

    2002/3@Ohio State - we got a huge snow storm - so bad they cancelled classes for the first time in over 30 years due to weather. Students held a 3000 person snowball fight in the Oval.

    2003/4@OSU - My friend & I attempted to build an outdoor rink on his Grandpa’s farm not far from campus. We were unsuccessful in building one but in a few days we skated on the river for about a month. Our grades suffered greatly.

    2004/5 - No shinny, alittle snow. We took our skating indoors to the OSU Ice Rink.

    2005/6 - Snowed only 2inches before winter break and never again.

    Its all downhill.

    Friday, December 29, 2006 at 10:37 am | Permalink
  3. sonia wrote:

    i met a family from quebec the day after christmas and they said this was the first time they could recall ever not having snow for the holidays. in quebec.

    Friday, December 29, 2006 at 10:43 am | Permalink
  4. Meza wrote:

    My wife said it wasn’t Christmas without snow. She grew up in Ohio and had snow every winter. I to miss the snow fights with my daughter and watching her eat the snow.

    Friday, December 29, 2006 at 10:58 am | Permalink
  5. OrderedChaos wrote:

    “Dude, Where’s My Winter?”

    I agree 100%. It’s not just DC; most of the country & world is warming. But to have 50-degree weather on NYE is just unsettling. Give me a good snowfall — not a DC slush-ice mess, but REAL SNOW!

    Friday, December 29, 2006 at 11:45 am | Permalink
  6. odessasteps wrote:

    I was so disappointed last year, when I went on a hockey vacation to Canada and it was so warm (40+) in Calgary and Edmonton that I didn’t get to wear the winter coat I bought for the trip.

    IF you think DC is bad, it’s even worse down here in VABeach. It’s been in the 50s and 60s the last two weeks — shorts weather!

    Friday, December 29, 2006 at 11:58 am | Permalink
  7. pepper wrote:

    I won’t use this forum to provide tips for all of us to minimize our contribution to global warming, but will just add my .02 to “misery loves company.”

    Here in NYC its pretty much the same - a bit cooler but nonetheless unseasonably balmy. No snow anywhere in sight - just a number of cool, wet, foggy days.

    I actually spent part of Christmas week 2004 in Winnipeg. It was fantastic. I watched a Moose game, snow was everywhere on the ground and still falling in flurries, and the cold winds froze my nostrils in seconds.

    For those missing a real winter, take a trip to the ‘Peg, check out the windiest city intersection in Canada (Portage and Main), and stay at the Hotel Fort Garry. Great historic building well-worn in a charming way.

    Damn I wish there was still NHL hockey there, and thus a Caps road trip . . .

    Friday, December 29, 2006 at 12:42 pm | Permalink
  8. Donald wrote:

    I WANT WINTER TOO!!! i couldnt get into the christmas spirit this year cuz of this friggin warm winter. i lived in denver for 3 years before moving back to MD, and man i miss it now.

    Saturday, December 30, 2006 at 10:34 am | Permalink

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