(Almost) White Christmas
Ever since I moved to LA, there is a strange feeling that occurs as the holidays approach. It is somewhat difficult to describe except for the realization that there is no chance of a white Christmas. It doesn’t even get cold in southern California. Well, it gets “cold” relatively speaking, but in LA cold is when it drops below 60 degrees and all the fragile, underweight Angelenos break out the parkas.
Of course, after living five years in sunny California, I find that I, too, have adapted to the constant warm weather. Last week, I was back in New York and, quite frankly, froze my butt off, and then I remembered, This is what it’s like to be cold. Not that I’m complaining mind you. I only wish I hadn’t lost my resilience to winter weather.
I do recognize that I have been luckier than most this week. I arrived in New York last Thursday which was when the MTA contract was up and there was a threat of a transit strike. Fortunately, negotiations still continued and the feared strike was delayed through the weekend. I am now safe in Denver through Christmas where it is not as cold as it is in New York, but more on that later. Unfortunately, the transit union still went on strike this week, which was just a mess for the city. Just the sight of thousands of New Yorkers walking over the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan was enough to chill me to the bone. There is good news at the end of this story as the strike did come to an end yesterday and all the buses and subways and roads are back to relative normality. Glad I wasn’t there, but it sure was a mess.
So, now it’s Christmas in Denver for me, where it’s been in the 50’s and 60’s all week. Okay, as a weak-skinned LA resident I shouldn’t be complaining about the warm weather, but the time of year that I always want to see snow is Christmas. How else is Santa supposed to land his sleigh? Besides, I went through the trouble of bringing my whole wardrobe of winter clothes that takes up half my closet but I never get to wear. Still there is some not quite melted snow from last week on the sides of some of the roads, and there aren’t any palm trees to spoil the illusion. At least it feels like Christmas.
Well, that’s about all that’s fit to print. This was a pretty big year, and here’s to hoping 2006 is even bigger—well at least more successful. I am finishing up my latest screenplay Samuel Jinx, so there will be more on that later, and stay tuned for upcoming projects including, yes, a music video for The Modlins… really.
Song of the Week:
”Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love