Early Winter Thaw

We have had such a horrendous winter this year! In most of the 50 winters I've spent in Louisville it has been cold, grey, and gloomy. We had occasional snow but other than one year when we had quite a lot of snow that stayed around for a few weeks and closed the schools for a number of days, our snow experiences were negligible. If the weather people predicted snow, the populace became hysterical and trotted off to the grocery to buy gallons of milk, loaves of bread and supplies for a long term confinement, and usually the snow ,if it came at all, just covered the grass and melted by noon. Doc worked second shift and he usually missed the snow because it had melted by the time he woke up in the morning. Needless to say, the schools closed!

Not so this year, it has been brutally cold, and we've had numerous snows, enough for building snow men and wearing boots, ear muffs and heavy gloves. The schools have been closed for enough days that it will be necessary to extend the school year until the 6th of June. (So far,- its still only February).

The city has done a much better job of preparing for inclement weather this year. The brine trucks are out on the streets promptly when snow is predicted and cover about 300 miles of roads before the snow actually hits. It has been wonderful to be able to travel all but the really remote streets during the time the snow is on the ground.

BUT the temperatures have been unbelievable. It has been below freezing most of the winter. Not often below zero on the thermometer but the wind chill factor has been below zero frequently. I have not been truly warm for most of the winter. In an effort to keep the LG&E bills manageable I have had the thermastat set on the lowest possible setting. I have Reynauds Syndrome and suffer from 'blue, black and eventually white fingers and lately, toes' for most of the winter. Hand warmers are a matter of 'to freeze or not to freeze' in my every day existance.

I finally decided to spend a week in Florida thawing out. I wanted to see the twins and Keith and Angela anyway and what better time to visit Sarasota than February? I left on Wednesday, Feb. 9th when the temp here was 17 degrees! Everything here is brown and dead looking and remainded so as I flew south until we approached the Georgia-Florida line when it became green!! What a treat, I warmed up just looking out the window of the plane. When I landed in Sarasota it was about 63 degrees, cold for them but comparatively speaking, warm for me. It became a little warmer each day that I was there. The major difference is that all of the trees, plants and grass are green and there are blooming flowers and trees everywhere you look. When I stepped out of the terminal I could smell the perfumed air from the flowering trees and plants. Each day that I stepped out of Keith and Angela's house the air smelled sweet.

I must admit that it was chilly the first few days, it rained one day but even that was pleasant. It warmed up enough for us to go to the beach two days. The people were sunning and walking on Lido beach with their shirts off (men) and bathing gear on. I'm sure that they were from the cold north and said,"By George, I'm going home with a tan!" More power to them . The following day was much, much warmer and the Siesta Key beach was crowded with sun bathers, volley ball players and beach walkers. It was ideal. Angela and I sat on the beach and watched the activity and got the added bonus of seeing three dolphins swimming and cavorting in the ocean. Oh, happy day! The next day we went back to Seista but just had lunch, (lobster bisque) and sat on a bench to see if the manatees would pay a visit to one of their hang outs, but,alas, they did not come.

On my flight down there, everything went well. Changing planes in Charlotte worked out and we had a nice smooth flight. When I arrived in Sarasota, I found that my luggage had mistakingly been sent to Charlston, S.C. The baggage clerk kept assuring me, "It is not lost, we know where it is!" I slept in a large 'Keith Fitztgerald for State Rep. tee shirt' and
waited until mid afternoon the next day for my wandering luggage to arrive.

I had to board the plane at 7AM to come home on the 16th, which required me to get up at 5:30 AM in order to get to the airport by 6AM. I was very well organized when I went to bed about midnight and felt I could be ready at 5;30 AM with out much effort. No drama! It all worked out and I was in plenty of time and boarded the plane with ease. Angela had given me a "Vanity Fair" magazine that had an article in it that she knew would entertain me for most of my flight. As we taxied out to the runway to prepare for take off, I pulled my magazine out of the bag and then discovered that my glasses were back in Sarasota!! I happened to have my prescription sun glasses with me so I was forced to put them on. I watched the sun come up as we flew north with my sun glasses on. Did I look bizarre? Well two men were wearing sun glasses. One was a blind man with a companion and the other one ordered a beer as soon as we were offered refreshments! I'm sure people wondered what my excuse was. Anyway, one more adventure in the life and times of EEF. Ciao!