The Sky Is a Hazy Shade of Winter
Saturday, January 6, 2007 - around 2:00pm - Washington, DC
Yay global warming! That’s what I have to say today. And I’m sure it’s what plenty of people in the Northeast are thinking, since it’s an obscenely gorgeous day outside, let alone the fact that it’s January 6. The forecast high today for fair Arlington, Virginia? 71°. Those are Fahrenheits, baby. I sucked up the ongoing flu/chest cold/pneumonia/bubonic plague, got hopped up on Dayquil, and went for a bike ride down to the airport and back. On January 6. Did I mention the weather was nice outside? Mad ups to the Little Girl of my life, my sister, who bought me one of those wicking shirts for Christmas. It wicked all right. I stayed fresh as a fat daisy on a bike. Now there’s an image.
Now, plenty of people are talking about global warming, especially since we’ve had such an unseasonably warm winter so far here in the Nation’s Capital. I give plenty of credit to Al Gore for putting the issue front and center in a lot of people’s minds. I mean, I remember hearing the term 15 years ago. But no one really cared because the economy went well, gas was cheap, and it still snowed plenty. But this date’s record high (for Washington) is 72° and that was set back in 1950 (or something - I’ve been thrown asunder since Bob Ryan stopped publishing his weather almanac). And I doubt the high set back then was caused by global warming. Freaky weather things happen. There was the Year Without Summer I and II. Always gotta get a sequel in. There have been winters, and I’m remembering my high school days, when we got slammed with at least one-foot plus snowfall once a winter. For those of you not familiar with DC snowfall, 2 inches shuts down the place. A foot leads to raping and pillaging. A lot of people have fond memories of snowy times as a child, white Christmases, and the like. But you know what: you probably remember those because they stand out. You surely don’t remember that Christmas when it was 42° and partly cloudy, do you? No, you remember the one where it started snowing to beat the band when you drove home from Baltimore and you watched people spinning out on that hill on Bel Pre Road.
As a Eco Crunchy Granola Green coworker of mine says, and I oddly agree with her, is when we have ten winters like this. Then it’s time to worry. Of course, by then, it may be too late to really do anything. For now, I’ll just keep driving my car which gets decent gas mileage, hope for big snowstorms, and enjoy randomly sunny warm days in early January. Because it’s going to be in the 40s by next week.
Below, two bonus pictures.
#1) The Washington Monument, seen in puddle reflection form. It’s okay. I can do better.
#2) The Signers of the Declaration of Independence Memorial. It’s tucked away on the National Mall in the Constitution Gardens, and if I’m not mistaken, the company my mom works for provided the stones. Each stone has a signer’s signature. Pretty neat, especially as it’s tucked away.
Title is from the song "A Hazy Shade of Winter," originally by Simon & Garfunkel, but made 80slicious by The Bangles.
