It’s supposed to be sunny this weekend but I’m still patiently waiting for that first sign of spring, even though it’s nearing the end of February.
Usually once the Vernon Winter Carnival is over one can count on that hint of warmer days to come, that something in the air that lifts one’s spirits and soothes the soul just enough to get through the rest of what passes for a Canadian winter in these parts.
Alas, so far, nothing.
I mean it snowed one night last week, almost enough that I had to shovel. What’s with that?
Now, I’m not a winter hater like some in my house, and I’m glad it’s been a good year for skiing at the Star and that our snowpack is finally in good shape (so they can jack up our already high water rates by 20 per cent and claim they’re saving the world while we pay through the nose, meanwhile these average residential bills they talk about must be a household with a little old lady and her cat because mine is twice that much, aarrggggghhhh), but enough is enough.
Many of us moved from the Prairies to get away from freezing temperatures this time of year. How are we supposed to make fun of our friends in Winnipeg when we’re on the same side of zero as they are? What ever happened to global warming or is it shaping up like the looming ice age they predicted back in the ‘70s. Or are we only truly happy when we’re scared to death of some looming catastrophe?
And we don’t even have the Olympics to take our mind off our weather woes this year.
Well we do have the retrospective shows on TV to bring back the warm memories of Vancouver/Whistler when we took to the streets to party about all things Canadian, including all those gold medals.
Still, one year later Canadian hero and gold-medal winning goal scorer Sydney Crosby is on the sidelines with a concussion after racking up first-half stats that rivalled the Great One. Now, who knows when he’ll be back. Heavy sigh.
Oh well, at least we have the Canucks, who are currently in first place and some fans are already planning a Stanley Cup parade through Stanley Park.
Alas, there’s a major speedbump on the road to the party, not to mention all those other teams that, with a little luck, could win it too.
You see, Vancouver defencemen are falling faster than dictators in the Middle East and short of bringing back Harold Snepsts (who they’re honouring soon at Rogers Arena, hell, forget that, give him a uniform and get ‘em out there) and Dennis Kearns, the fact that injury-prone Sammi Salo is one of your healthiest blueliners may soon prove to be a real back-breaker, so to speak.
If only I could skate backwards I might have a chance. Actually I might have a chance to play for the Manitoba Moose (Canucks farm team), whose entire blueline crew is now playing for Vancouver, but I hear it’s cold in Winnipeg this time of year, so forget it.
Oh well, at least we have Family Day this Monday, a time to relax, regroup, hug our kids and feel glad to be from B.C.
Oh no, wait, we don’t have one of those quite yet.
Our neighbours in Alberta do.
So while we head off to work on Monday they’ll be at the Star with their kids, along with our other neighbours from Washington state celebrating Presidents Day, having a great time.
Heavy sigh.
I must confess on my way to work Friday morning I did notice it was a little brighter than usual and I actually heard birds chirping. Except I could’ve swore it actually sounded like chirping, you know like complaining that someone should turn up the heat already, rather than any kind of song celebrating a new day dawning.
But that could be just me. Did I mention I’m looking forward to the first real sign of spring?
