Five things I luuuuv aboot winter in the Smoke and one thing I hate aboot winter in the Fax

Let's start with the good:
1. Tears hang upon them. That is the literal translation of eyelashes in Twi, the lingua franca of my Ghanaian peeps. Being an equitorial people, they don't have any words for snow or ice. Too bad, because in Atikokan, Icicles hang upon them. Seriously. Your breath freezes on your eyelashes and then your eyelashes freeze shut when you blink. If you can manage to hold still and not blink for a few seconds before hypothermia sets in, you will be delighted by the frosting on your eyes.

2. Cross country skiing. The Beaten Path Nordic Trails club has let me into their inner circle so to speak (mostly for my own safety . . . or maybe theirs). I joined them for the Sawmill Creek Classic on fantastic loaner skis from the club. Now all I need is a headlamp so I can ski after work, it gets dark fantastically early.




3. Bearded men. There is an abundance of bearded men. Facial hair has not only made a come back, it is triumphant. And I am jealous. I can't even grow a few wispy hairs on my legs let alone a luscious beard. I'd even settle for being part of the revolution to bring back the moo-stache. Why have I become pro-beard? a) Wonderously warm at 20 below, b) wonderously warm at 30 below and c) wonderously warm at 40 below.

4. Plugging in your car. No, it's not some eco friendly wonder car available only in Canada's far north. You need to plug in your car, to say the socket on the outside wall of your house because all houses worth their shingles have outside sockets for this purpose, so that your oil doesn't freeze. Yes, it's soooo cold the oil in your car will freeze and your engine will die a sputtery black smoke death. To prevent this and other catastrophes, all cars come with a personal, electric warmer for the oil. Ingenious!

5. Winter roads. Don't be confused. They are not actually roads: they are rivers and lakes that are frozen solid and people drive on them to get places like say your ice fishing hut or the quincy you dug in the snow in case you wanted to spend the night in the freezing cold. You know, exciting destinations like that.

Now, moving on to the one thing I hate aboot winter in the Fax i.e Hali
1. Whenever it snows or threatens to snow, or rains or threatens to rain, they shut down the airport and I get stranded in Toronto and miss my residency interview Dalh. WaaaWaaawaawaw!