No white Christmas for me.

I will gut out what I have left of the Minnesota winter. Only 4 weeks to go. Because I'm going to Italy. To a locale where it hardly ever snows. And where the natives think it's darn cold when the temperature dips into the 40s. We Minnesotans, of course, almost think of that as shirtsleeve weather. Anyway, we had a heavy, wet snow on Saturday. The first day that I was unable to go for my usual daily bicycle ride. But hey, by Sunday the snow was pretty much gone from the roads, and I biked 25 miles. Donned a jacket and a ski mask. And I'll try to keep at it until the day I climb aboard the plane for a flight to Italy. Over time, I have adjusted to Minnesota winters. But I can truthfully say that I won't miss winter. I can live without it. I will shed no tears living without a White Christmas. --Jim Broede