Paddle On

Winter is good and bad in Chicago. Well, it's more bad than good. Okay...it's not good!

I'm wondering what–besides hot chocolate and heated indoor structures–is good about this season? So I've come up with a nice, juicy list. To wit:

1. REFLECTION

What more do you need than 122 uninterrupted days of blistering frost to keep you inside and thinking about all the things you wish you had/were/did?

2. MEDIA CATCH UP

Deep freezes are a great time to tell yourself you ain't doing squat right now! Hit me up Downton Abbey! What you got, Long Island Medium? Oh, and now I can Google stalk everyone I've ever had a crush on and research organic rhubarb gardening (maybe this is my year!). Yay for free time!

3. DELUSION DEVELOPMENT 

Chicagoans in the winter are always throwing out lines like: "Winter weeds out the riff raff;" "This is what separates the masters from the rookies!;" "We midwesterners are sturdy and awesome!" Bullpuckey! 90% of us cold dolts want to live somewhere warm, but isn't it nice to be able to create a warm, cozy, space-heater-free nirvana in our heads, and in the meantime tell ourselves that we are all-powerful?

Hmmm...I guess that's the end of the list because I can't think of any more.

Oh, wait, how about --

4. WINTER SPORTS?

I've recently learned to play platform tennis (often referred to as "paddle"), which is tennis on a small, raised court with metal flooring and tall fences (called "screens"). I have actually met some fabulously fun, wonderful folks playing this sport, and I dare say that I enjoy it almost as much as my beloved tenny, which I've been playing since I was 9.

If you're interested in taking up this endeavor, here's a vid on cold-weather paddle by Peter Burka, who is a paddle (and tennis) stud in Chicago (and the nation):

Winter will be gone soon, and we'll all praise Mother Spring Goddess for bringing us fertile land to plow and cultivate (not to mention the ability to walk outside without spewing profanities). However, until then, paddle on (or whatever it is you do to survive this dastardly frigidity) Chicago!