The Sarge in Winter

OAFS Photo

Winter refuses to loosen its grip on Little Rhody, much as the rhinovirus refuses to loosen its grip on my sinuses.

Light snow Thursday morning, as depicted above, which turned to light rain in the afternoon. No doubt it will all turn to ice in the evening. (Forecast says above freezing overnight, so that's a comfort.) It has been wicked cold here this winter. No, not northern tier cold, but cold for Little Rhody.

Having lived here longer than I lived in my home state of Vermont (25 years versus 23) I thought I knew the weather here. My experience has been that we get a couple of weeks of Arctic chill (teens and below) every year with the rest of the winter the temperatures staying mostly in the mid 30s to upper 40s. This year it seems to be staying in the mid 20s (and below) getting above freezing only when precipitation moves in.

Don't get me wrong, I've seen some major snowfalls in this area over the last two decades and a half. But that's the exception, rather than the rule.

The Missus Herself informs me that her homeland is seeing a lot of cold and snow this year as well. My observation on this is that this is a natural cycle. Saw some really bitter cold and snow in Korea during my four years in the Land of the Morning Calm, as juvat can attest to in his shorter stint on the peninsula.

So weather is one of the safer things we can talk about as adults. I think. At any rate, it's been awfully bloody cold here as of late and that situation extends all the way down to Virginia. Which is all I can speak to for the East Coast, New Hampshire to Virginia and no more than 150 miles from the coast. Something about being near salt water comforts me. (Not on it mind you, near it.)

As I've been coughing and hacking more, expelling dead viruses from my body, I guess I've turned the corner on Monsieur Rhinovirus. I sure hope so, having one's sinuses feel like they're plugged up with cotton is no fun, as most humans can attest to.

Now I know why Finnegan was sort of cranky last week, he just wasn't feeling all that great. He's normally what folks call a "happy baby," he smiles a lot and makes few demands from his parental units, except when he's under the weather.

The Missus Herself suggested the other day that if she wasn't around I'd probably just die. Well, she may be right, even when she doesn't feel so hot herself, she takes care of me. Yeah, I hear about it. Don't know what it is about some (most) guys but we can be big wusses when we don't feel well. Many of my female acquaintances would agree, saying "It is known.¹"

I spent the day nursing my battered sinuses, cleaning the slushy snow off the deck, and streaming a lot of TV shows and movies. I highly recommend Yellowstone and 1883 for TV binging. The movie Pixels, with Adam Sandler and Kevin James, was amusing and fun. The film is based on the 1980s gaming scene, think Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. You know, goofy gamers grow up then save the planet with their gaming skills. Very funny in parts, a fun film overall.

I did watch Gladiator II last week, streamed it online on Tuttle's big screen theater system. We had thought about watching it back in December by actually going to the theater, but the logistics didn't work it. Then I mentioned that we could stream it for $19.99 to avoid the logistical issues, not really appropriate material for 2 and 4 year old boys, and the 12 year old granddaughter isn't quite old enough to mind the children while the adults go to a film. Which would have meant leaving one of the adults behind.

Oddly enough, I almost watched it two weeks ago when the streaming cost went down to  $9.99. Missed the chance, only to discover that one can stream it at no cost provided one has the right subscription. Which we did.

I was very prepared to be underwhelmed. It's a Ridley Scott film, which up until last year I had considered a no-brainer for entertainment. As I felt Napoleon sucked, for the most part, I had no confidence in Mr. Scott's ability to capture the magic of the original Gladiator film with Russell Crowe. He didn't, not really (I mean come on, sharks in the Coliseum?) but to my surprise the film was very entertaining. Completely ahistorical but entertaining. I mean come on, it's not a documentary. (Neither was Napoleon but he made such a hash of the story and the main character, IMHO, that I couldn't let it go.)

So yeah, Gladiator II, not bad, not great, but worth the two and a half hour run time. If you've got the time to spare.

Anyhoo, back to sipping NyQuil and streaming.

Y'all have fun now, ya hear?

¹ For you Game of Thrones fans, yes, that's a Dothraki saying. For you non-fans, well, it's a saying.