Lack of winter leaves empty feeling

Michael Martin

Even though the expected highs for this coming week are supposed to reach the upper teens or lower 20s, we have been spared the normal wrath of a Minnesota winter.

I, for one, am disappointed by this. Harsh weather during the winter months has come to define our region and the people who live in it.

Whenever you go anywhere else in the country when people find out you're from Minnesota two questions are asked.

"How can you stand the weather?" and "Did you really vote for Jesse Ventura?"

When it comes down to it, that is what people from other states really know about us. We live in sub-zero weather and have elected an ex-wrestler as our governor.

I have always taken a weird sense of pride in living in Minnesota and our extreme weather.

I always thought it was pretty cool that sometimes it was so cold, that if you were to walk outside you would experience frost bite in under a minute.

There was a time that then-Gov. Arne Carlson called off school and other state-related functions for two straight days because it was just too cold.

Another positive aspect of winter is of course, those snow days.

Snow days were what every kid growing up here dreamed of.

Having the radio set to WCCO every morning was a staple during the winter just in case my school district called off school because the buses couldn't start.

Being awarded a snow day was like a double bonus. Not only did you have the whole day to yourself but you also had fresh new snow to explore and play around in.

Whether you enjoyed spending your snow days snowmobiling, skiing or just hanging out in the backyard making a fort, it was never in doubt that there was a good time to be had by all.

Minnesota weather also has the ability to bring people together to form communities.

For the most part people seem to be in very high spirits after big snowfalls. People seem to be very charitable whether it means shoveling older couple's driveway and walk down the road or stopping and helping somebody push their car out of the ditch.

This winter there has been almost none of that. Really no need to come to a stranger's assistance during a winter storm or meeting your neighbors while shoveling.

At the end of November it looked like we were going to have a good old-fashioned Minnesota winter. We had a storm where the snow just would not stop.

There was so much snow that SCSU President Roy Saigo called off classes � twice. SCSU and canceled classes are not phrases often muttered in the same sentence.

It was fun.

Students around the campus area got an opportunity to act like nine-year-olds again.

As you walked around the area snowball fights and making snowmen were common sights. There was a house on Fifth Avenue where the residents built a snowman as big as their house.

We had such a good start, but what happened?

Our snow drifts melted away into puddles. Our winter wonderland was gone.

We experienced heat waves and record temperatures throughout December and January.

We flirted a couple of times with winter-like weather, but never it really materialized. All we have had on the ground is a pathetic layer of snow that shows the brown of the dead grass in many spots.

As we embark on February one can hold out hope that temperatures will dip down into the sub-zero area and that there will be record snow fall amounts that paralyze the area.

Not because I like to see Xcel Energy make a little bit more money due to a rise in gas use to heat homes, but to be able to strap on big winter boots and slop around in the snow and to get another chance to act like a kid with no cares in the world.

Winter gives us a chance to be truly Minnesotan. Without it, we lose much of what defines us and leaves me with a feeling like I have missed out on something, something fun.

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Michael Martin can be reached at: [email protected]

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