This winter came on hard after a lovely December… I should be grateful that I got the chance to ride at all-stars but I’d like to get back to it. Today was worse for wind, and I feel a slight wind burn on my face. It’s supposed to get worse as the day progresses, but I’ll hit it one more time before dark.

That said, the “Kindness is Everything” sign has been pretty much unmolested for several months. (Knock on wood.) This is completely contrary to the experience we had with a sign that supported a contract for the local teachers. I had expected this sign to be destroyed in the first couple of weeks. Maybe, like the folks with the confederate flags, the folks that would have damaged this have moved on.

I’m sitting at Abbey’s Gab’N Shack, which is run by the previous owner’s grand daughter. (The resturant was named Millie’s before, but she passed and the place sat idle for a couple of years.) They refreshed when they took over, and it is a convenient walk from the senior housing across the river and the apartments across the road. It is more reasonably priced than the Horse’s Mouth bar across the way, which has since given up on a regular lunch schedule, more reliable than the Silk City Saloon for both service and quality, and a bit more homey than the Bridge Street Cafe, north of the river. (Incidentally, that establishment is being run by someone who inherited it at the passing of a relative, though it has been put up for sale recently.) There are days I dislike being in a small town, but this is not one of them.

I took a slow, careful drive around town and there are a few folks out and about. I think Michiganders are good for about a week of this, perhaps three at a stretch, before we are absolutely tired of it. We live here so we don’t have to deal with the bone aching cold of Minnesota or North Dakota. I feel for the folks south of Ohio and Indiana who are going to get a taste of this. It was always hard on folks in the DC bubble when winter would show up for more than a quick pass. The folks in Georgia seem to be the ones that suffer most, with Atlanta being hardest hit. I wish them a glancing blow and a return to the moderate temperatures that they usually enjoy.

I suppose now that my food is gone, I should wander home and do the remaining chores before heading back outside to clear the walks one last time before dark.