This is me wanting to beat old man winter senseless.
Yes, I am a summer person. I dislike winter very very much. I have tried endlessly without success to convince Sonia to move to Phoenix. It is clear to me that it just ain’t gonna happen.Â
I have vague memories of enjoying winter as a child. I think it took a 180 once I went to the city to go to school, having to live in a cold basement and trudge to school 3 miles away. Uphill. Both ways.
The clincher came when I had to spend a winter co-op term in Ottawa, otherwise known as ‘Cold Moscow’. Having to wait for the 6:50am bus in the dead of winter, in the dead of night, looking forward to a ho-hum day at Revenue Canada has scarred me to the core. Oh, yes, I won’t forget the winter of old ’93.Â
Things have gotten a little better mind you, so this year’s mid-winter blues is more like a passing cramp that can be dealt with the next bio-break. Now that I own winter clothing and dress accordingly (thanks to Sonia) most of the time, I now see that winter doesn’t have to be bone chilling. In fact, it can be somewhat pleasant outdoors provided I’m warm. A unique experience that those Phoenixites, um, I mean Phoenecians could never partake in.
I’ve incorporated some winter activities into my life that does seem to make the season pass more quickly. For example, I am looking forward to a ski trip to Horseshoe Valley on March 4th to celebrate Sonia’s birthday with a bunch of fellow ski bunnies. And, I must not forget Wonderboy.  The days also seem to be getting longer again.
 All in all, I guess maybe I’m starting to think winter isn’t so bad after all. I guess with time healing the wounds, a wife and set of friends that enjoy winter, and an appreciation that can only come with age has softened my opinion. It don’t beat summer mind you, but it can be tolerable.
So that picture above? Well, maybe that’s me ‘thanking’ old man winter for such a wonderful season.
The reason I got sparked onto this topic is because I was reading an article about Woodstock in the old Bathroom Reader. The Summer of Love. Would have been something to see. Except for Sha-na-na. Can you believe they were the next to last attraction? Just before Jimi closed it out. Woah. Far out.
Lineup At Woodstock:
Friday
- Richie Havens
- John Sebastian
- Country Joe McDonald (with his “Fixin-to-Die-Rag”)
- Swami Satchadinanda (the guru)
- Bert Sommer
- Sweetwater
- Tim Hardin
- Ravi Shankar (groovy man)
- Melanie
- Arlo Guthrie
- Joan Baez
Saturday
- Quill
- Keef Hartly
- Santana
- Mountain
- Canned Heat
- The Incredible String Band
- Grateful Dead
- CCR
- Janis Joplin
- Sly and the Family Stone
- The Who
- Jefferson Airplan
Sunday/Monday
- Joe Cocker
- Max Yasgur (speech)
- Country Joe & the Fish
- Ten Years After
- The Band
- Blood, Sweat & Tears
- Johnny Winter
- Crosby, Stills & Nash (joined by Neil Young)
- Paul Butterfield Blues Band
- Sha-Na-Na
- Jimi Hendrix
The music played nonstop from Friday to Monday morning in an attempt to prevent rioting from occurring. C’mon, hippies don’t know how to riot man! They peacefully withstood hours of heavy rain, 600 port-a-potties for 500 000 people, and LSD-spiked water. My favourite little tidbits of info I read was about the injuries:
3 deaths – 2 overdoses, 1 kid was sleeping under a truck when it drove away
Of the 5000 injuries there were a few who were blinded – from lying on the ground tripped out and staring at the sun.
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