February 2026 -- This & That

With such cold winter weather, I have had plenty of time in the house to ponder of late. Here's what I have been thinking:

1.    We have been hit hard with snow to start the new year here in the Mid-Atlantic region, and that always makes me wonder – how do the snowplow drivers get to the plows with the roads covered with snow? Do they sleep at the location of the plows? And even beyond how they get there, how does the first plow find the road to plow? How do you get to the Garden State Parkway or NJ Turnpike when they are covered with snow? It’s not like they have any tracks to follow. I’d watch a documentary on show removal – as long as my driveway has been cleared! I saw video of NYC snowplows transporting tons of heavy snow to waiting “hot tubs” strategically stationed around NYC to melt and eliminate the snow. Would someone like to pick up my snow? There is a pile in my front yard right now that I could burrow into and make an igloo. I think it might still be here on Memorial Day!
2.    Along the same vein, I can’t recall in recent years a period when the temperature stayed under 32 – and, for that matter, when it has spent days hovering around zero -- for such a long time. When the thermometer reads 20 degrees, it seems almost balmy. I did all the required things you do in a cold snap, like opening the cabinets under the sink and letting the faucet drip to prevent the pipes from freezing – but it is just TOO COLD. My face hurts when I go outside. No comments on that, please.
3.    I don’t understand why every day, right after lunch, I just know I am going to fall asleep. I can sense a nap coming on, and no matter how loud the TV is or how much light streams into the family room, before long, I’m out for a nice stretch. Contrast that with the bedtime ritual, where I seldom feel like I am about to fall sleep, despite a comfy room and bed and all the right conditions. And if I do get to bed and fall asleep at a reasonable time, that just means I’ll be up by 1 AM for that first trip to the bathroom. I know it isn’t just me, is it? But that afternoon nap is sweet!
4.    What’s with these British family feuds, and why are we forced to hear about them? Whether it is Harry and Meghan feuding with the King and the Prince or Brooklyn Beckham denouncing his parents (who gave him a fairly nice life, let’s face it) over his wedding and wife, the actions of these people are not newsworthy and instead of required reading should be avoided reading.
5.    It is frustrating when things work and then suddenly they stop working. Take my scanner, for instance. Last year I used it for all my tax materials. This year it doesn’t show up on my computer as part of my HP printer. Yesterday, my car inexplicably lost access to the navigation system, the radio and the phone. I didn’t think the car could run without the radio on! Then I had to stop the car for an errand, and, when I restarted it, everything was back except the phone, which I assume had somehow lost its Bluetooth connection. So, the problem has been solved, but who knows what happened in the first place? Some kind of update, I assume.
6.    We can’t be too careful with our personal information, such as passwords. I put mine in an organized document and saved it with a password on my desktop to protect it. I did a great job, because even I can’t get into the document! What was that password?
7.    The other day I found tissue remnants all over the washing machine, meaning that someone left a tissue in her pocket. I’m not naming names, but we all know I live alone. Many people to whom I told this story commiserated with me, because we have all done this at one time or another. It looks like somebody had a party and used tissues for confetti. This should be my biggest problem.
8.    My friends and I were talking about the inimitable and indomitable Cher recently with awe. She is 78 years old and has scored hits in 7 decades of music. She looks much younger than her age, dates a 39-year-old man, and can still kick ass on the stage, wearing outfits that defy her years. If only we could ALL turn back the hands of time like Cher does.
9.    Does anyone still pay extra for fancy checks? Why? Will PSE&G think better of you if you pay your bill with a check full of puppies? I never understood why someone would feel that paying their electric bill on a check featuring birds or seashore scenes was worth the expense. For that matter, does anyone still use checks to pay their bills?
10.    Did you watch the Superbowl Halftime show with Bad Bunny? I don’t know his music, but the show was so imaginatively staged and so full of joy, that I cannot understand why anyone would object – unless it is out of sheer racism. Puerto Rico is part of the US, and Bad Bunny was born there, which makes him as much of a citizen as any of the rest of you. All I know is that the music had a good beat and you could dance to it, and that’s the standard we have used since Dick Clark’s American Bandstand. As for the other music, just play the Whitney Houston version of the Star-Spangled Banner. It was magnificent, and no one will ever perform it as well as Whitney!
11.    Since 2016, I have done my best to avoid watching the news. But the tragic story about Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother has me tuning in again. My heart breaks for the family as the authorities examine every possible lead that will resolve the case one way or another. Savannah is accustomed to reporting on these stories; being the center of one must be unbearable. I expect to be watching this on Dateline at some point in the future.
12.    I have watched entirely too much curling in this year’s Olympics, but that’s what has been on during the daytime, and I got hooked. Besides, participating in curling seems attainable for an average person, as opposed to hurtling down a mountain on a snowboard or skis. Or having some strong and graceful man throw me through the air across the ice. And I don’t see the joy in the luge, where you lie on your back on your sled and race down an ice-covered track. What’s your view there? The sky? I can relate better to the summer Olympics, where people run and jump and play tennis and soccer. Not that I could actually do those things, but they SEEM like something I could do. And I wouldn’t be cold doing them!
13.    With the world in such a contentious and bleak state, I find myself upset, mad and depressed. I think the only thing that is getting me through this terrible period is watching the uplifting stories provided by Steve Hartman in his “On the Road” series. Whether the story is about a school that was named after its janitor, or a little girl bonding with a lonely, elderly man at the supermarket, or a group of high school kids who show up every week for breakfast at the home of a grandmother whose grandson was killed in a car accident, or a policeman who pulled over a young woman and told her he wouldn’t give her a ticket if she continued her education (she is now a nurse), or any number of acts of kindness provided by friends and strangers, these stories lift my spirits and give me some degree of solace. That, and the fact that pitchers and catchers have reported to training camp. There is still hope!