There is a cliché about how if you don’t like the weather in some particular locale, just wait a minute to five minutes or even blink, and it will change. Will Rogers said it about Oklahoma. Mark Twain stole his own best stuff applying the phrase to the climate of New England in one instance and Buffalo, NY in another.
In these parts, the cliche´ is only partly accurate. The weather tends fairly stable around here with only a few crossover days when you see jonquils in the snow or Trick-or-Treaters in shorts.
This week, however, the weather has given us fits. Fits because the near-perfect spring weather of last Thursday, Friday and Saturday deteriorated to mushy, wet snow on Monday and a cool and cloudy Tuesday. Allegedly sunny weather will return by the time this paper rests in your hands.
The accompanying photo was taken last Thursday. A little cool for swimming, the day was pleasant enough for playing in the park, beginning spring chores or throwing those over to go fishing.
Henry David Thoreau once bragged he was rich in the number of sunny days he had wasted. Now, more than ever, wasting a sunny day is a luxury few of us allow ourselves.
Days at the park, taking a walk, getting ready for softball season, golfing, or even just opening windows to air out the house are not to be taken lightly or squandered. Such spring activities were probably enjoyed last week by a significant percentage of the local populace.
We arrive at the conclusion quite a few people took “sick days” (maybe “well days” would be a more accurate phrase) by the noticeable lack of activity in Jasper late last week.
At this newspaper, two employees were found in front of our Main Street building passing time outdoors. The office was peaceful. No one was calling. No one placing ads or inquiring about a press release. There was even a lack of political debate on our online message board. Overall it was as quiet as the normally hectic Progress has been in years. Thus, we conclude many people became a little richer in the their sunny day accounts.
Let’s face it, the economy has allowed many of us more peaceful days than we prefer, and there is some real suffering over the slowdown. But if you gotta be out of work, it might as well be on a day that is pleasant.
One construction contractor was talking recently about how this winter has been tough on many in the grading and homebuilding trades. Not only is there little work to go around, but winter weather has held these outdoorsmen mostly indoors. The man optimistically predicted an improvement in the weather will bring an improvement in people’s confidence and the outlook for business.
While sunshine is no cure for the busted bubble of North Georgia real estate, a few nice days do make all things easier to tolerate.
So our local stimulus recovery advice: When you get a sunny day you can make into a “well day” absence, take it.
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