It's the day after Valentine's Day , February 15, 2015, and we are facing snow and then flooding.Last year about this time we were facing bitter cold polar vortecs that eventually dropped our temperatures to 20 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, which is utterly amazing for central Kentucky. Only two weeks ago we had over 12 " of snow fall on a Sunday night , then burn off by Friday in 60" temperatures. I guess it could always be worse but it would have to be of Biblical proportions to top-20 degrees.So this week one can only guess at car colors lurking under layers of road salt applied to our highways. Sometimes I wonder if our friends in Florida miss us as we plod along our daily lives covered in several layers of confining but warm winter clothing. Age has taken the thrill away from the winter snows that used to generate excitement for sleigh rides and snowball fights. Now you can't even make snow cream without thoughts of air pollution and carbon particles in our atmosphere. Now I have to worry about having good tires for traction and maintaining 4 wheel drive.Interstate 75 has been reduced to a giant parking lot the last two storms due to Semis playing bumper tag and jackknifing . Over 3000 travelers spent over 24 hours on the road two weeks ago. At a point there is no place to go , and it's cold and gasoline soon runs out keeping the car warm. The National Guard picked up hundreds and took them to community shelters. All too soon things will return to normal and everyone will be towing campers south for spring break at 85 mph. Every other car seems to be from Michigan or Ontario as they are headed to Tampa or Miami.I have noticed that the tire dealers are selling tires that are made in China,something that I just can't quite trust on my cars. They are about half the price of a new Michelin, yet there is something unsettling in my mind as I contemplate the thin margin of safety at 85 miles per hour on Chinese tires. A new set of Michelin 20" tires will top $1000 , which also troubles my mind. A $1000 set of tires is worth nearly as much as some of my cars.This particular storm we are currently experiencing is Olympia ,I think, which makes it the 15th winter storm of the season.Why must we name everything?So I have never in all my life grown so weary of politics, which like this winter never seems to end. We have taken time out to fight over a deceased Supreme Court Justice's demise. He isn't even buried and the parties are fighting over who will be appointed. There seems to be a shortage of decorum and appropriate behavior amongst our leaders, and yet I forget that never have we had such a collective group of greedy , self serving bastards leading our country. I think kindness, intelligence, and consideration for other people has been deleted as necessary for leading our states and Federal government. Our leaders in Washington are amazingly similar to the fat, greedy, and decadent Senators in the latter days of The Roman Empire.I'm yearning for earlier Florida days and thoughts of the nubile elusive Mermaids ,which I assume pay tribute to King Neptune. I wonder if Neptune's court politicians are as shallow and petty as our own, or can he just poke them in the ass with his trident to make things happen?I often wonder if the Mermaids have stores where they buy latest fashions and nautical baubles, of if they have the equivalent of cell phones to communicate. Maybe they just stick the old conch shell up to their ears and talk. They ride seahorses instead of BMWs and seem to have greenish looking skin which hints to me that they don't have blood like us. Maybe they are descendants of Atlantans and know a lot more than we air breathers. I know they know more than me. I still think about them at times though, mainly on really cold nights. I'm contemplating getting on Face Book because I have a lot of pictures of my great nieces and nephews, but I don't know about this friending BS. I don't want friends popping up from years ago that I like even less as I've grown older. I think I will try to get Sandy to do the nice social stuff on the thing if I decide to pull the trigger. She meets 2 criteria:She is genuinely nice and she can type, both of which I am alien to.I've been reading Thomas Wolf and Look Homeward Angel is really an eye opener. I think Wolf was only 38 or 39 years old when he died and his preoccupation with critics and acceptance are nearly overwhelming . I wonder how he would have matured. I also just read Michael Connellys new novel about Harry Bosch and his half brother , The Lincoln Lawyer. I think the movie people got it right when Matthew McConnehey played the lawyer. I also didn't know McConneheys parents met at the University Of Kentucky. I also don't know how to spell McConnehey.It's off to London and Manchester tomorrow on good tires. No mermaids in either place but some good projects which will help pay bills.Been listening to Gaelic Storm as I cruise back and forth to Tennessee on our weekly trips. The song " I Punched Russell Crow", besides being autobiographical , has interesting overtones.I'm tired of Hollywood sirens and have taken up curing ham and bacon. That's quite a departure for me, and I'm afraid that the next step will be bowling.Everybody but Peter Pan grows old.
