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One of my favorite songs is the classic by George Gershwin, “Summertime.” His brother, Ira, wrote those great lyrics: “Summertime and the livin’ is easy.” Ain’t it the truth? I learned yet another lesson in the past few days about how acclimated I’ve become to South Florida’s near constant summertime. And I had to accept something about myself that I hadn’t before now: I would not enjoy living anywhere else at this point in my life. I love the weather here. Anytime the sun disappears and the thermometer drops for a couple of days, anytime our climate even briefly resembles relatively mild northern weather, I quickly find myself longing for the return of our endless, easy livin’ summer.
All of this struck me last week. We had a minor cold snap. Ok, I admit that our “cold snap” would have been a heat wave this time of year in places like Chicago, New York, Montreal or Toronto. Yes, folks, in Fort Lauderdale the temperature actually plummeted all the way to daily highs around 60 degrees. Brrrrrr! Get out the electric blankets! But hey, to South Floridians that really feels cold. We were bundled up in heavy leather jackets. Some people wore gloves, probably fearing frostbite or hypothermia or something. All I know is that it felt darned nippy outside. For a whole two or three days. Wow, how did we endure it?
But seriously, I just couldn’t wait for the sun to return. Which it did very soon, of course. And I just couldn’t wait for the air to feel comfortable and pleasant again. Which also happened quickly, as always. I wanted my easy livin’ back. That was when I had this somewhat unsettling realization about myself. I understood that I would have a very hard time adjusting permanently to the weather in Chicago, New York, Montreal or Toronto. Though born a northerner, I really am a South Floridian now. I adore the sunshine. I adore the warmth. I adore the beach and the sea. After 18 years here, I’m totally hooked. Life truly is easier in this part of the world because our weather is so much easier most of the time. Winter is hard. Summer is easy. The Gershwins had it right.
All of this struck me last week. We had a minor cold snap. Ok, I admit that our “cold snap” would have been a heat wave this time of year in places like Chicago, New York, Montreal or Toronto. Yes, folks, in Fort Lauderdale the temperature actually plummeted all the way to daily highs around 60 degrees. Brrrrrr! Get out the electric blankets! But hey, to South Floridians that really feels cold. We were bundled up in heavy leather jackets. Some people wore gloves, probably fearing frostbite or hypothermia or something. All I know is that it felt darned nippy outside. For a whole two or three days. Wow, how did we endure it?
But seriously, I just couldn’t wait for the sun to return. Which it did very soon, of course. And I just couldn’t wait for the air to feel comfortable and pleasant again. Which also happened quickly, as always. I wanted my easy livin’ back. That was when I had this somewhat unsettling realization about myself. I understood that I would have a very hard time adjusting permanently to the weather in Chicago, New York, Montreal or Toronto. Though born a northerner, I really am a South Floridian now. I adore the sunshine. I adore the warmth. I adore the beach and the sea. After 18 years here, I’m totally hooked. Life truly is easier in this part of the world because our weather is so much easier most of the time. Winter is hard. Summer is easy. The Gershwins had it right.
posted by LauderBLOGGER at 9:14 AM
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