On Weather and Friendships ...

Winter has arrived in Cincinnati! It started in late October with the need to scrape ice off our car windows. In New Orleans, if you even have to scrape, this likely accompanies the coldest day of winter.

I know the calendar says fall. And everyone in Cinci says how mild the winters are. But this weather is the big chill to those of us with thin southern blood.

We posted a little early this week because we are spending the weekend in New Orleans. Expectations are for low temperatures in the mid-50s with highs in the mid-70s. Fall is probably the nicest season there, especially since it lasts through what passes for winter above the Mason-Dixon Line.

Our time in New Orleans is jam-packed with social activity. In three nights there we have dinner with a couple of friends on each. After one of these dinners we will have a late session with another couple for coffee and beignets.

On Saturday Susan and I separately visit dear friends. On Sunday we take my mother with us on a short “disaster tour” and to lunch. We then gather with my brothers and their wives for an early celebration of our birthdays (November 6th and 11th). On the agenda is planning for my mother’s 90th birthday celebration (December 15th). We will, of course, return for that.

One concern about this trip is that it may stir up some homesickness which is barely below the surface in Cincinnati. We do not miss New Orleans as much as we do the great friendships that we left behind.

Back in Cinci, we voted for our first time here, mostly based on recommendations of the newspaper, the Enquirer. We are late getting our Ohio drivers licenses; we have a booklet to study. We should also get Ohio license plates, but it’s cool to have Louisiana plates (I am not sure why). We still have our New Orleans numbers on our cell phones.

It seems like we are trying to maintain some ties to N.O. while committing to Cincinnati. Time will tell.

jbv's Competitive Edge