Cold Shoulder

Contrary to some American stereotypes, Canada isn't a nation that's entirely frozen over, 365 days a year. As a man very famously put it, I live in a house, not an igloo, and that's the way it is for the vast majority of us. However, it is quite true that Canada is known for cold weather. I don't pretend to love it, but it does strike me as a little odd that so many Canadians HATE any sign of it, given that it's a normal part of this thing called winter.

As I post this, my hometown of Stoney Creek is sitting at -18 degrees Celsius, with the windchill getting to -28 tonight, and it will be that way for a day or two. However, that's the coldest it's been around here in quite a while. Without fail, whenever we get so much as a thimble-full of snow, most people in town complain about it right then and there -- wussies! Right now, Atlantic Canada has to deal with windchill of -41! Hamiltonians should deal with that for a while, before they complain about what we've got here -- compared to Newfoundland, Hamilton sounds like the fricking tropics right now!

Like it or not, in the middle of January, it tends to get a tad frigid in the Northern hemisphere. So the next time you're eager to complain about there being one bloody inch of white powder on the ground, ask yourself two questions: Short of moving to Florida, is there anything you can do about it?; Is it really worse for you, than anyone else in the country? The rational answer to both questions, is probably "No." Enough said.