I don't like the cold. Used to like it. Heck, used to love it. As a kid I hoped and prayed for snow, especially through the week so we could get a few days off from school. And that was a glorious thing when we did get it. The outside world was covered in white, covering up eyesores and things that didn't get done or cleaned up before the winter set in. Leaves covering the ground, weeds and dead flowers in the flower beds that didn't get removed. Snow was a equaliz
er. Everyone's yard looked the same. White, frozen water in the form of freshly fallen snow covered everything. We kids played in it. Me and my friends who lived outside of town pulled sleds and truck hoods behind 4 wheel trucks and tractors even if the snow was deep enough. 7 or 8 of us laying on a pickup hood being pulled through the snow banks and down the ice roads. We all would take a turn driving and rest assured somebody would take on the mission of driving like a complete maniac, intent on flipping us or at the very least scaring the daylights out of us. And guess what? It usually worked. We were flung across roads into trees, thrown down into ditches and emerged airborne before crashing and throwing our bodies around like dishrags. Inevitably, someone would get hurt. Somebody would get thrown headfirst into a tree, leaving them dazed and confused about their whereabouts for a while. Once when we crashed after a ditch dive and and we finally stopped rolling and the cloud of snow we had thrown up died down we discovered one of our friends missing. We heard him moaning but we couldn't find him. Finally one of us thought to pick the truck hood up and look under it and there he was. His arm was wrapped around the chain that was connecting the hood to the back of the truck. It was broke. We rushed him home and left him there so we could get back to our adventures. I remember one snow storm riding with my oldest brother Greg and he driving his pickup up and down RT 24 in front of our house doing doughnuts and sliding all over the place. Those were good times and every kid should experience playing out in snow at least once, although not as stupid as we "played." BUT, then as I got older I start thinking about snow in a different light. I realized that with snow comes cold. I don't like cold. It causes me discomfort. This is part of why I moved to Florida in 2000. I'll gladly take beaches and palm trees over snow ANYDAY!! Since moving to Florida I have become severely allergic to the cold. Anything below 60 is now cold for me. And believe it or not 40's and 30's re not uncommon here in the wintertime. Heck, it's 47 out right now as I write this. I'm also writing this with my insulated flannel hooded shirt on. Going out in public when it's cold in Florida is hysterical. Most people that move here from up north think it's tee-shirts and shorts year round. I did. I laughed at people that talked about it getting cold in Florida. And like most people I gave or throw away most all my heavy winter clothes an
d coats before coming here. I did keep one "just in case". You can tell how long someone has lived in Florida when it gets cold and they have to put that one coat on they saved to go outside to do anything. The older the style, the longer they have lived here. Go to a event here in Florida when its cold and we look like poster children for the salvation army. Mismatched coats, hats, scarves and gloves. My heavy coat is a old NFL Eagles coat that has the OLD Eagle logo. I tell all my friends it's my old school jacket that I'm so proud of but the truth is it's just old. And it's true when you hear people talk about "acclimating" to your environment. Before I moved here anything above 20 in the winter was great weather for that time of the year. Now, the 20's would literally kill me. On the other hand, the low 90's with only 80% humidity would be like a spring day for me. I'm sorry northern friends and family but give me sandy beaches and palm trees anytime over dead foliage and snow. Give me warm ocean breezes and plenty of sunshine over cold winds and cloudy dreary days. Give me a sunset that sets the sky on fire with colors. Give me
the peace of knowing the keys are just a short drive away. I love Orlando and it's theme parks and Disney, where I work. I love the rural areas where pastures full of cattle go as far back as the eye can see. I love the smell in the air when the orange tree are starting to blossom. Yeah, the snow is pretty and it's nice to experience as a kid but now as a adult, I'll stick with Florida.
er. Everyone's yard looked the same. White, frozen water in the form of freshly fallen snow covered everything. We kids played in it. Me and my friends who lived outside of town pulled sleds and truck hoods behind 4 wheel trucks and tractors even if the snow was deep enough. 7 or 8 of us laying on a pickup hood being pulled through the snow banks and down the ice roads. We all would take a turn driving and rest assured somebody would take on the mission of driving like a complete maniac, intent on flipping us or at the very least scaring the daylights out of us. And guess what? It usually worked. We were flung across roads into trees, thrown down into ditches and emerged airborne before crashing and throwing our bodies around like dishrags. Inevitably, someone would get hurt. Somebody would get thrown headfirst into a tree, leaving them dazed and confused about their whereabouts for a while. Once when we crashed after a ditch dive and and we finally stopped rolling and the cloud of snow we had thrown up died down we discovered one of our friends missing. We heard him moaning but we couldn't find him. Finally one of us thought to pick the truck hood up and look under it and there he was. His arm was wrapped around the chain that was connecting the hood to the back of the truck. It was broke. We rushed him home and left him there so we could get back to our adventures. I remember one snow storm riding with my oldest brother Greg and he driving his pickup up and down RT 24 in front of our house doing doughnuts and sliding all over the place. Those were good times and every kid should experience playing out in snow at least once, although not as stupid as we "played." BUT, then as I got older I start thinking about snow in a different light. I realized that with snow comes cold. I don't like cold. It causes me discomfort. This is part of why I moved to Florida in 2000. I'll gladly take beaches and palm trees over snow ANYDAY!! Since moving to Florida I have become severely allergic to the cold. Anything below 60 is now cold for me. And believe it or not 40's and 30's re not uncommon here in the wintertime. Heck, it's 47 out right now as I write this. I'm also writing this with my insulated flannel hooded shirt on. Going out in public when it's cold in Florida is hysterical. Most people that move here from up north think it's tee-shirts and shorts year round. I did. I laughed at people that talked about it getting cold in Florida. And like most people I gave or throw away most all my heavy winter clothes an
d coats before coming here. I did keep one "just in case". You can tell how long someone has lived in Florida when it gets cold and they have to put that one coat on they saved to go outside to do anything. The older the style, the longer they have lived here. Go to a event here in Florida when its cold and we look like poster children for the salvation army. Mismatched coats, hats, scarves and gloves. My heavy coat is a old NFL Eagles coat that has the OLD Eagle logo. I tell all my friends it's my old school jacket that I'm so proud of but the truth is it's just old. And it's true when you hear people talk about "acclimating" to your environment. Before I moved here anything above 20 in the winter was great weather for that time of the year. Now, the 20's would literally kill me. On the other hand, the low 90's with only 80% humidity would be like a spring day for me. I'm sorry northern friends and family but give me sandy beaches and palm trees anytime over dead foliage and snow. Give me warm ocean breezes and plenty of sunshine over cold winds and cloudy dreary days. Give me a sunset that sets the sky on fire with colors. Give me 
the peace of knowing the keys are just a short drive away. I love Orlando and it's theme parks and Disney, where I work. I love the rural areas where pastures full of cattle go as far back as the eye can see. I love the smell in the air when the orange tree are starting to blossom. Yeah, the snow is pretty and it's nice to experience as a kid but now as a adult, I'll stick with Florida.
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