Why do we stay here?

It was one of the meanest April Fool's jokes here. I woke up this morning and looked outside to a white hell. The only intelligent thought a fellow could have is: How much is a flight to San Diego today?

It started yesterday morning with light flakes dancing off a wide street. Since the temps were in the mid 30s, it seemed like no big deal. But as the day wore on, it got colder and the flakes began to get bigger. By the time I got home last night, there was enough to shovel. We went out and did a few things, running into the sight of squall you expect to see in Bemidji in January. By the time we got home, there was more shoveling what we like to call around here "heart attack snow."

As a rule, the local weathercasters are an incredibly inaccurate bunch whose batting average is below the Nick Punto line. (Ask a Twins fan. They'll explain.) This time, they managed to get it right. As they told us it would, we ended up with a lot of snow on the ground and it sure as hell doesn't look like April today.

So do we stay here? Is it really for that good week of weather we'll get in late June? Is it because the pace of life is really that good? Are our neighbors really that nice? Or is it because we are too damn lazy to move?

Fact is, this was one of the most miserable mornings in the history of the state. On the day after the baseball home opener, we had six inches of snow on the ground. Never mind that it won't last long. This weather stinks.