Viva El Nino!!

With all apologies to Bing Crosby, I will not be joining him in dreaming of a White Christmas this year.  Barring a substantial change in the long-range forecast, it appears we will not be getting any substantial snowfall in the next week.  And I could not be any happier.

As I have been saying all month, "You don't have to shovel rain".  And it has been nice not to have to bundle up like you are going on an Arctic expedition just to take out the garbage.  But the benefits of a "Green Christmas" don't stop there.

It makes for a much safer holiday season as well.  No need to worry about hitting a patch of black ice while heading over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house.  And no need to worry about the older folks slipping and falling while walking up your driveway.  Plus, there are far fewer heart attacks from trying to clear wet, heavy snow from the sidewalk.

A Green Christmas could also mean more gifts under the tree this year, too.  When "Santa" gets a $100 break on the home heating bill, he might spend it on the kids or the wife.  And when you throw in the lowest gas prices in seven years--fueling up "the sleigh" is much cheaper as well.

And the best part of having no snow is that it makes over-the-top yard displays--you know the one's I'm talking about, where the 3/4 scale size nativity scene where each of the figures lights up is surrounded by Santa and all eight reindeer, an inflatable Frosty the Snowman that is in a perpetual state of deflation and therefore is just laying on the ground and every edge of the house is lined with colored lights while icicle lights, not to mention the rotating holiday message display projected onto the garage door--look even more ridiculous.

So this year let's celebrate not have to run gifts and boxes to the vehicle in a cloud of our own exhaled breath.  Let's not worry about tracking in that gross black water with our shoes onto the floor at other people's houses.  And let's replace Feliz Navidad with a new song: Viva El Nino!!