To live in this place, we put up with winters that sometimes seem never-ending. But end they do—eventually. Winter isn't over yet, but Sunday brought a kindly foretaste of the warmth to come. That triggered my annual dip into Ray Guy's 1975 collection of newspaper columns, You May Know Them as Sea Urchins, Ma'am, and its final essay, "This Dear and Fine Country (Spina Sanctus)." Well, we made it once again, boys! Winter is over. Oh, but there is still snow on the ground. So what? It hasn’t got a chance. It is living in jeopardy from day to day. We should pity it because it...

13 March, 2011

Around this time of year, I like to dig out You May Know Them as Sea Urchins, Ma'am, Ray Guy's 1975 collection of newspaper columns, and re-read the last essay in the book: "This Dear and Fine Country (Spina Sanctus)." Well, we made it once again, boys! Winter is over. Oh, but there is still snow on the ground. So what? It hasn’t got a chance. It is living in jeopardy from day to day. We should pity it because it will soon be ready for the funeral parlour. It is only a matter of another few paltry weeks and we shall see...

08 March, 2010