You can spot it in the nicknames and slogans-New Hampshire has "Live Free or Die" despite the logical conclusion that there has to be some degree of moderation from one to the other whereas here in Connecticut we call ourselves The Land of Steady Habits. Talk about Snooze City. It's sort of like Kansas' motto on their license plates, 'Gateway to Nebraska.' Of course, as acquaintances from Rhode Island are fond of pointing out, 'what can you expect from a state of insurance salesman?"
Certainly not coffee milk (that was a anti-Rhode Island slap shot, if you were wondering). Anyway, we're telling one another in these parts that this has been a pretty rough winter which assumes that it's true and that the winter is over. Yeah, it's been rougher (in terms of cold and snowfall) this winter than last but not by very much and the calendar says we have two months left of the cold and dark. So cowboy up about it already. Our mileage may vary but our tone of self-pity probably not.
Saying I'm glad to live where we have four seasons is like being proud of one place over another because of the accident of where you were born. Oh yeah right, the latter is what George Bernard Shaw said was the definition of patriotism. Well, this is awkward. Not as bad as some New England cities and towns will have it come spring when their residents find out that their leaders gambled on a mild winter and spent the snow removal budget on other pet projects only to discover too late they needed it to remove snow. Probably why some places want snowmen declared one of the basic food groups so their school kids can eat them for lunch.
-bill kenny
No comments:
Post a Comment