Clean Your Cars!

I honestly haven't had much to post about lately, but the return of winter brings with it one of my big pet peeves.

Namely, people who can't take a few extra minutes to clean snow off of their cards.

We've only had two days of the white stuff, and I've already been behind a half-dozen vehicles that either A) create a blizzard in their wake or B) cannot possibly see out their back windows.

So, allow me to establish a few do's and don't for winter-time car cleaning:

1. Hopping in your vehicle, turning on the defrost, and pulling away does not qualify as cleaning off the snow.

2. If I can't see inside your car, you can't possibly see out of it. It's not that hard to brush the snow from your back window.

3. Cleaning off just the driver's side of the windows does not qualify. Take the extra minute to do both sides.

4. While you're at it, brush the snow from your roof and trunk as well. I like winter wonderlands as much as the next guy, but not when I'm driving 55 MPH down a highway.

5. Rule 5 applies even more to those of you with pickup trucks with bedliners ... on which about 4 feet of snow piles up.

6. All of the rules apply even more to those of you who, despite owning garages, still park your vehicles in the driveway or street.

Yeah, I know it's cold out. Yes, you might have to set your alarm 15 minutes earlier than you normally would in the morning. But, it would make you a much safer driver, and make the experience a lot more enjoyable for those on the roads around you.

I'm not ready!

I'm sure this will be the subject of a lot of Northeast Ohio blogs this morning ... so I'll join the chorus.

While I didn't wake up to snow on the ground outside my suburban estate, what fell from the sky a little later in the morning was most definitely snow.

And, for the record, I'm not ready.

You see, I'm not a winter guy. I like being warm. I like baseball. I like concerts at Blossom. I like mowing my lawn.

I don't ski. Or sled. Or toboggan. Or build snowmen.

Winter means my gas bill goes up, and I spend more time indoors than I really like.

Winter means I have to watch the news do multiple live shots every time a couple flakes fall in Chardon.

Winter means I don't get to see my friend the sun for several months. And if he does pay a visit, it usually means it's about 4 degrees outside.

Look, I grew up in Ohio. I know this happens.

But sometimes, I really wonder why I STAY here.