Spring Snow for Maine Today! Texas? Not So Much.

Not the Igloo in the Story :)

Today is the first full day of spring. My friends in Texas and other parts of the country are welcoming the new season with temperatures near 80 degrees, while here in Maine we're about to get hit with another snow storm! We are going to get at 5 inches of solid sunshine this afternoon and tonight. With that in mind, I thought this would be appropriate story. 

I try like to crazy to be an optimist regardless of the circumstances. It's difficult to do sometimes, but I still make a great effort to do it. That's exactly what a group of guys in Minnesota, whose motto is "At Least We're Not North Dakota", recently did. These guys were tired of them and their neighbors hibernating during the long, cold Minny-soda winters and not really seeing each other for months at a time. So what did these enterprising young men do? They were given lemons and they made lemonade from them. More precisely, the were given snow and they made an igloo out of it! They made an igloo large enough to accomodate fifteen people! Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Chris Aldrich, one of the igloo builders, said, "In the summer, everybody's out, and we see everybody," Aldrich said. "But as soon as winter comes, everybody shuts themselves in. We wanted to get to know people in the winter."Is this a great idea or what? It's such a great idea that not long ago 30 people showed up for a block party at the igloo. This is no ordinary igloo either. It's outfitted with a "vented fireplace, candle alcoves and patio furniture". The story from UPI failed to mention that Mother Nature provided the beer cooler. :)

I gotta tip my hat to Chris Aldrich and his housemates for their amazing ingenuity with regards to the igloo. That wasn't the case when I first read this story. I had a million funny things to say, but I just couldn't bring myself to make fun of these huys. I mean, I live in Maine and I am simpatico with Minny-sodans whne it comes to winter weather. And I'm a bit jealous that I didn't think about this before those guys did. Chris and his buddies deserve a lot of credit for turning a bummer of a situation into a project that they can tell their grand kids about. Way to go, guys! I just might create a Because Toby Said So Certificate of Merit or something in your honor. I am duly and completely impressed.

Because Toby said so.