“Everyone should live in California, but leave before they get soft. Everyone should live in Manhattan, but leave before they get hard.” –Anonymous [Editor’s Note: David Letterman may be about to broadcast his last show, but his comedic contributions — including “Top Ten” lists — will live on. In that vein . . . I...Read More
“The Postman Always Rings Twice Wears Shorts” With yet another blast of cold air gripping the Twin Cities (high temp today: -5° below; windchill -30° below), I realized that my earlier post on Winter humor had a glaring omission. Here’s the updated version: 10 above: Twin Cities postal delivery workers put on long pants. Anyone...Read More
Traveling From Minneapolis (-10°) to Chicago (0°) Normally, Minnesotans heading to the airport in the depths of winter face a trade-off. Option #1: wear their winter clothing and stay warm to and from the airport, but then be saddled with lots of extra clothes at their destination. Option #2: travel light, but freeze to and...Read More
A November to Remember, or “Weather Hubris” OK, so San Diego didn’t get 3 inches of snow last week. And bragging about the Twin Cities’ (otherwise) memorably balmy November is the height of “weather hubris” — the repercussions of which, in short order, are typically a record-setting blizzard and/or bone-numbing windchill. However . . ....Read More
YWMMV (“Your Walking Mileage May Vary”) I definitely prefer walking around Lake Calhoun in the summer. For one thing, the people watching is better — there are more of them about, and, minus the bulky winter clothing, you can actually tell the genders apart. For another, you don’t have to worry about below zero windchill’s...Read More
“Don’t Worry, They’re From Minnesota” If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? –Shakespeare, “Merchant of Venice” What recalls the quote above is Chicagoans’ assumptions — OK, my relatives’ — about how Minnesotan fare in very cold weather. While...Read More
