Today's MOSTLY TRUE SHORT STORY: The Joy of Winter - Sometimes

Words and photo by F LoBuono

Make no mistake about it - I hate the winter. No. Wait. Let me rephrase that: I DETEST WINTER. No matter how ZEN I try to be about it, I simply have a hard time seeing (or, feeling!) much of any benefit to it. I find the loss of light depressing. Once I get cold, I just can't seem to get warm again - ever! Plus, it actually hurts to be cold! And, with the preponderance of salt used to de-ice the highways, EVERYTHING is coated with white filth.

Furthermore, all of my immediate ancestors hailed from Sicily, an island that is notoriously hot and dry for most of the year. So, my genes are engineered to handle that climate - not Siberia's! In fact, I am so genetically predisposed for scorching weather that for me to start getting tan only requires showing me a photo of the sun.

But, as is the case with most things in life, there are exceptions to virtually every rule. And, today was one of them. After a few days of dealing with the brutal reality of The Polar Vortex that plunged the region and much of the Country into the freezer with record setting low temperatures, the weather rebounded today. When I left my house to drive to work, the temperature had reached about 20, which by comparison to the previous few days, felt downright balmy. And, with a bright sun and crystal clear blue skies, one might have even described the day as pleasant.

So, I fired up my truck and set out on my journey, beginning with a trip over the new Mario M. Cuomo - Tappan Zee Bridge. Traffic was light and the sun absolutely brilliant. I crested the high point of the span and looked to my right - South. Before me lay a magnificent site: the Hudson River looked like a quicksilver ribbon, stretched out for miles from the bridge all the way to the towering skyscrapers of Manhattan, glimmering in the distance. And, the ice which was clogging the eddies, looked like brilliant, floating, uncut diamonds reflecting the brilliant afternoon sun.

It was enough to make me think that, maybe, just maybe, winter may not be that bad after all - that is at least until the next Polar Vortex!