January 3: At McDonald's Again, Cold Is Cheap, Scrooge

I'm currently at McDonald's, racing my laptop's battery to get this posted.  I have 37 minutes.  I've had a really productive hour or so here.  I just uploaded my post from this morning.  I submitted some poems for an anthology of U.P. poets that's coming out this year.  (I'm pretty much assured of getting published.  I know the guy who's putting it together, and he likes my stuff.)  And now, I'm trying to get my second post done.

Thirty-four minutes.  The view outside the window here at McDonald's highlights all the new snow we received yesterday.  The whole hill on the opposite side of the highway is pure white, covered with black pine trees.  The temperature this morning was about -6 degrees Fahrenheit.  It's warmed up to around 3 degrees now.

Sometimes, Scrooge got it right

Speaking of warmth, I'm sort of a Scrooge when it comes to heat in my house.  It's not because I don't like being warm.  It's because my heating bills are so astronomically high January through March/April.  I'm reminded of what Dickens says about darkness and Scrooge:  "Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it."  When my wife or daughter complain about the coldness of our abode, my response is always the same:  "Coldness is cheap, and Martin likes it."  When I'm feeling particularly generous, I will allow my daughter to turn the thermostat up a few degrees.  It's like Christmas morning all over again for her.  Just another way to keep Christmas alive.

Eleven minutes.  Saint Marty is done.