My Kind of Winter

We have had virtually no snow in Detroit so far this winter. Some flurries have come to earth in their sing song, lightly swaying fashion, and that's been about it, at least in my area.

They're calling for one to three inches Tuesday morning. That would be our most significant amount to date. If it comes. And if it does it'll melt off quickly. Detroit is expecting highs in the low 40s the rest if the week.

I can live with that the rest of the winter. Apologies, skiers and snowmobilers, but I'd be okay with record low snowfalls this season. I suspect I'm not alone in that thought either.

Let the games commence!

Now it begins: the real winter sports season. Beginning this week, I curl in earnest.

Granted, I've curled a bit so far. I've played so-so in three tier 55 spiels (Tier 55 is the polite Canadian way of saying that old guys are curling) and all right in league play. But this week is the real start of my curling season.

We've played since October 24. Yet our season runs until April 7. So do the math: well over half of curling is still ahead of me. The gauntlet begins with a Tier 55 in Sarnia, Ontario on Wednesday, league play Thursday night, and the annual three day men's tournament at the Detroit Curling Club Friday through Sunday followed by the restart of our Monday league, appropriately enough, next Monday.

I currently have seven bonspiels scheduled for the remainder of the season and hope to squeeze in two to four more more. Yeah, I know, I'm holding back. But a guy's gotta attend to life sometimes, and the curling gods don't always work with you (my team is on the waiting list for a few spiels). Still, it's better than football. I'm participating and not merely watching.

And I'm looking forward to it all.