Hello. Snow, snow and more snow. Is snow some kind of test for the folks foolish enough to live north of the Mason-Dixie line? Why do people choose to live in this crap? "I love the changing seasons." Bullshit! When you think about it, it's no wonder the Midwest is the least populated area of the country. Debilitating snowfall, freezing cold, torrential rains, devastating winds, scorching heat...then it starts over again. It makes us the "hearty souls" that we are. Or is it the grinning idiots that we are? Who wants mild temps year-round anyway?

When winter hits like this, I think back to the pioneers who trekked across the plains heading for the land of milk and honey. As a result of a bad travel agent, they happened to hit the Dakotas in January. They must have thought, "Great, the West is like the colonies only more desolate." What's even more surprising is that some of them stayed here. Come on, they did not have all-wheel drive conestogas. The Midwestern character was born.

Well, I'm going to go build my character, one shovel full of snow at a time.