Winter Doldrums Part 2

Alright. I have ironically established that this time of year is stifling my blogging…and commence to produce a three-part series to back that up. Part 1 noted that this lousy winter bears some responsibility for the funk. Turn on the TV and the first thing you hear is “Enough already with this winter!” Hence, the illustrations for all three posts are the opposite of winter.

When I was a working stiff, there were occasional times when I did the work part to excess. Late into the night, weekends. Not a balanced life. Lousy time management skills also kept extra-curricular ideas from germinating. I sometimes thought that if I could just get sick…the right kind of illness – too sick to go to work but well enough to sit up in bed, drink screw drivers (for the Vitamin C of course) and advance all that brilliance…things would get done.

What was I thinking?

Now I’m retired. I’ve also been sick. All those work demands are no longer an excuse. It doesn’t work that way. They don’t call it ‘sick’ for nothing. Creative thinking? I’m too busy with the tissues and pills and trying to stay comfortable. When I am comfortable, the best thing the head can do is stay still, appreciate NOT coughing and watching the TV. There is no brilliant thinking. Progress is not made during this dull and dim period.

So, on to more ‘Images to make you forget it’s February’.

Barbados (22 February 2007)

How great is it to have a wife who gets a job in Barbados in February? There’s nothing like getting on a plane in winter and getting off a few hours later in summer…in Paradise. Lush, tropical vegetation everywhere. Beck went to work and I read in the sun…for the one hour it took to fry my sad, pink, Caucasian skin and ensure I stayed in the shade for the rest of the trip. But it’s not winter.

Dawn, Cabo san Lucas (21 November 2012)

Wouldn’t you rather see this out your window about now? My poor Massachusetts’ friends can’t even look out their windows because the snow is piled higher than that. I’ll admit snow can be pretty to look at. The sunlight, shadows and stark contrasts can be visually arresting. But you can’t walk into it in your shorts and t-shirt…at least not if you want to live a long and healthy life.

Pool Still Life, Cabo san Lucas (20 November 2012)

Palm trees, cactus and enough sun to fry your lily-white butt. Imagine that. Just shorts and a tee. Right now, I’m wearing jeans and a sweatshirt…with a bathrobe over that. The heating system has been humming non-stop for days. I hope it doesn’t crap out before spring.

While the crummy weather and being under the weather have contributed to this dearth of output, the main culprit was neither seasonal nor medical.

Stay tuned.