FLORIDA BOUND! GOODBYE SNOW AND ICE-HELLO SUNSHINE AND PALM TREES!

Man am I virtually hung over from the wonderful party we had here yesterday. There's plenty left over, so please feel free to help yourselves.

I'll be driving once more to Florida. Almost 1300 miles. Hopefully by tomorrow night I will arrive south of Atlanta. The weather looks fine once I leave snowy Chicago.

Orlando is my first stop in Florida. I must have a few days to say "Hi" to Harry Potter and the gang at Wizarding World. Let me know if you want more pics. I don't think it's changed much since I went in November. I do have many new friends since then, so I would be more than happy to write a post there and download some new pics for any HP lovers out there. Then I am off to Cocoa Beach for the remainder of my day.

Last year I wrote a fictional short story based on my drive. I'd like to share it with you. Have a great weekend everyone.

Through Shades of Gray

Ominous gray skies give birth to another new day. Always haunting, never pleasant.

Leaving the cold, dank winter behind, I start my car and begin to drive down the skeletal tree-lined street. Turning left at the edge of the park, I motor toward the highway, ready for my escape. The sunlight so present in the south has abandoned the north for what seems like years. Gray skies persist, day after day, and month after month. It has taken its toll on me. 

I have only one thought as I continue the long drive from Chicago to Florida: the sun. How much I took it for granted when I moved to Chicago four years ago from the very place I’m so desperate to return. Then, I couldn’t wait to move back north. I had missed the four seasons. Little did I know how much the north had changed. No longer did the bright summer days last forever. Overcast skies dominated, covering the little light that broke through the mass of clouds. When the green summer leaves turned brown, I ached for the crisp, sunny days I remembered from long ago.

This year continued to disappoint me just like the others had. The winds turned icy as the trees in the park withered. I looked forward to the first snow. The white powder clinging to the branches and edging the windowsills of buildings, frosting the city with an iridescent glimmer. 

Snow began to fall by late November. The magic was over before it began. The sun hadn’t shone for weeks. One day melted into another. What day is it? I kept asking myself. Is it Christmas yet? Not yet, but soon.

I recall how I couldn’t wait for the holidays to be over. For most, it’s a joyous time. It had been for me too, once, but lately Christmas seemed too much of a hassle. Honestly, I don’t know how I lived through this past year. New Year’s Eve culminated the end of yet another uneventful year.

Traffic halts as several Mack trucks enter from the on ramp. I change lanes, avoiding the caravan. Despite the congestion, I’m glad to leave the gloominess of winter.

This excerpt is from my short story that was a finalist in OPEN CITY magazine.