General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIt has been a tough, long winter in
Minnesota and most of the upper Midwest. I have heard many people say that they thought it would never end, and that spring would not arrive. I told them that it certainly would and to stay hopeful. Well, it arrived today. But, now, the same people are complaining about mud.
It is sad that some cannot celebrate anything.
It is far too common, and in many areas. Hope is the anticipation of what is to come. When signs of it appear, celebrate.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,267 posts)I love it that three days after we got 4" of snow it's 71 degrees. My windows are open; I was driving around with my car windows and sun roof open, and I'm wearing flipflops. I bought a bougainvillea for the porch, hosed the dirt and mud off my deck and tomorrow the lawn chairs come out. I got the screens out of the garage. And I'll sit on the deck and drink some wine while wearing a t-shirt and shorts and flipflops.
It's finally spring and I'm very, very happy.
MineralMan
(146,189 posts)Tomorrow, I am firing up the lawnmower and mulching all the peanut shells left on the lawn by the sqirrels we feed. Good times!
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)nt
MineralMan
(146,189 posts)but you knew that.
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)Electric Monk
(13,869 posts)MineralMan
(146,189 posts)But, Fargo residents and many others are piling sandbags, and are hopeful they will prevent damage. Their optimism is heartening. Looks like they will succeed, too.
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)Arrived here in WI about 10-12 days ago, is passing quickly as rain is helping deepen the thaw and the water now has an opportunity to soak in
CTyankee
(63,768 posts)I am hopeful that they are feeling lots better now...
kickysnana
(3,908 posts)I really loved those two 60 degree days after all the snow and cold.
Luckily they have cleared all the housing out of the Levee and Lillydale so St Paulites never have to worry about floods. However, there are areas that could flood above all records and that is something to be concerned about ie Grand Forks, Fargo, etc. It is better to get the word out early so folks can come help with the sandbags. Although flooding still depends a lot on the near future rain patterns.
I have cousins who farm in the SW part of the state and things got tough last year and they were hoping for a better year this year. They tell me they kind of take turns going out into the fields in the spring until someone is successful, when they don't have to call for a couple more tractors to pull them out of the muddy field they are mired in. Planting late decreases yields and puts smaller plants in the way of hail and wind storms. If they fail, the factory and absent farmers move in. Not at all good for the rest of us.
Bonobo
(29,257 posts)I feel like I just saw a Wilford Brimley commercial.
I find it sad that people cannot see beyond their own self-satisfaction to appreciate the fact that for some people mud is what you have to wipe off your $150 hiking boots and for some people it is what you eat.
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)Lots and lots of Third Way pontification and lectures on display tonight.
Keep talking, Third Way. Keep showing America what you really think...
Bonobo
(29,257 posts)Fresh air and the stars are his chandelier!
And he can move anywhere easily!
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,267 posts)without getting a lecture about some presumed elitist attitude about mud and expensive hiking boots, which I didn't notice anywhere in the OP?
We had a shitty winter. We are glad it's over. I'm not sure why noting that fact is worthy of snark.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)Why turn a simple observation into a snark fest.
MineralMan
(146,189 posts)In fact, I'm almost sure of it.
Anyhow, today's a beautiful spring day. More to come.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,267 posts)But it's another nice day, regardless.
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)who fail to appreciate gratuitous lecturing of others as just part of "pleasure over the arrival of spring."
Keep talking, Third Way. America is listening...
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,267 posts)Why are you trying to turn this into political commentary? I saw nothing in the OP other than an expression of pleasure that a long, crappy winter is finally over, along with mild surprise that after all that snow now a few people are complaining about the mud. Since I live in the same area, I understand exactly what the OP is saying. And it's pretty straightforward: Spring is here, let's enjoy it.
There is no subtext! Don't try to find one to suit your agenda, whatever that is, where none exists.
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)It's all part of the joy of spring!
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)So very edgy and cool.
DisgustipatedinCA
(12,530 posts)It's not difficult to see; nothing esoteric about it.
MineralMan
(146,189 posts)Maybe you're looking at it through cloudy eyes. Sometimes, things are simply what they are. If you bring something to your reading of a post, that's not the poster's issue, really. But, it's not really all that important. It's just a thread about winter and pessimism. If you want to expand it to include other stuff, be my guest.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,267 posts)Hell, one could find a subtext reading the phone book (if you can find a phone book). "Aha! Lots of people named Smith! Why is that, do you suppose? Just evidence of western European hegemony in American cities, I'll bet! Fascists!"
If you want to conjure up a subtext to this rather innocuous observation about the coming of spring and people's reaction to it, feel free. But it seems to me that there are plenty of bigger fish to fry on DU - unless there's an axe you feel needs grinding relative to this poster.
randome
(34,845 posts)MineralMan
(146,189 posts)By next October, I'll be looking forward to the first snow, tuning up my snowblower, and getting out my snow shovels. Change will always come, whether we hope for it or not. Like many things, we can't really do anything about the weather, but we can make the best of it, not the worst.
The Link
(757 posts)MineralMan
(146,189 posts)weather.
The Link
(757 posts)MineralMan
(146,189 posts)that's probably not in the cards. But, thanks for the reply and the kick.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)It's as if they don't know how to do anything but complain! They really know how to drain all the joy out of life.
MineralMan
(146,189 posts)but there's also never a shortage of things to celebrate, in most cases. For a few people, of course, their lives are horrible, and they have every right to complain. For most of us, though, that's not the case.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)I was taught to try to be pleasant. It's kinder to other people to talk about other things than just complining, I think. It's also really boring to be around a person who complains all the time.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,267 posts)about people who post comments about the arrival of spring.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)That's really witty.
Please don't try to dismiss what I am saying, because I am at wit's end with a person who literrally complains all day about everything. It fucking drives me to despair. Threre really are people who don't know how to do anything but complain.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,267 posts)and are able to spread their unhappiness to those around them. These people are toxic and should be avoided, if possible. I'm sorry you are having to deal with someone like that. They're like Harry Potter's Dementors; they suck all the joy out of their surroundings.
Be happy; it will drive them nuts.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)For my own health and sanity and mood.
MineralMan
(146,189 posts)I hope you can find a way to be around people who have a more positive outlook, somehow. That could help.
But I think they're just letting off steam
MineralMan
(146,189 posts)A few people I know, though, simply cannot help themselves. No matter how good things are, they search until they find something to complain about. I try not to hang around them too much. It might be contagious.
ananda
(28,781 posts)Hurray! I'm hoping for a great, long hot summer too... with rain.
I really hope I see some butterflies and bees this year. I can
hear the birds chirping right now, and the grass looks so much
greener than usual. I love the green.
Yavin4
(35,354 posts)cali
(114,904 posts)The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,267 posts)because it is a treatable condition.
There are other people, though, who aren't depressed; they're just grumps who like to rain on other people's parades.
cali
(114,904 posts)I wish the myth that depression is universally treatable would die.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,267 posts)and many levels of severity. But many people can at least be helped, and I hope the various treatment options improve. I know it's a bad affliction - I know people who suffer from it and I am not trying to make light of it. The point of the OP, though, was that some people just complain, not because they are depressed, but just because they are in the habit of complaining. A whole different situation, obviously.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)I'm not a complainer, but people who habitually complain a lot bring me down.
people like me who have a tendency toward depression have learned coping strategies such as trying to see the positive, remebering things that we are thankful for, having pleasant conversations with others, smiling at kids and playing with puppies.
People who complain all day long are really depressing to be around. I need to stay away from people like that.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)headway in your fight against depression. It can be hard to dig yourself out.
I wish you peace and happiness.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)A lot of it has to do with maintaining a good attitude. I think to myself about this person in my life who does nothing but complain, that I would have killed myself long ago if I were like that, if I did not know how to do anything but complain. What kind of a shitty existence is that? Maybe she wants to drag other people down? If so, it often works. I've gotten better at fighting off a negative attitude, but a person like that makes it tough.
I'm the opposite. I'd much rather make someone else feel better from an interaction than feel worse. I don't need to bring people down if I'm feeling low, or attack people who may be better off than I am, prettier, luckier, has nicer things, or whatever. I don't want to be THAT person.
One really helpful thing for me, something I read a couple of years ago, is to be thankful for challenges in life because they make you a better person. Maybe it's BS, but I have to believe it if I want to keep wanting to live another day. It's like that asian (Chinese maybe?) word that crisis and opportunity are the same word. Instead of whining and feeling miserable, the idea is to be thankful for whatever you have, and to work on changing or improving things instead of complaining. It was all in some book I read about 4 years ago, and it does help my attitude. I am still be as cynical as hell and sometimes I think everything is rotten, but even so, I try to appreciate whatever there is to appreciate. I have to if I want to keep going.
Peace and happiness to you as well!
MineralMan
(146,189 posts)with depression can get some relief from it. I'm not talking about people with illnesses, frankly. That's a different situation altogether. Same with people who are mourning a loss. I'm talking about people who have no such reason.
randome
(34,845 posts)...are those who may be 'disappointed' that the Marathon Bombing did not lead to a rout of the Establishment, despite their best efforts to turn it that way.
Disappointment can lead to resentment, which can lead to pessimism.
The Establishment can certainly use some tearing down once in a while but this was the wrong event on which to hitch their horses.
bigtree
(85,915 posts). . . he mentioned the snow.
MineralMan
(146,189 posts)when we were in California, but haven't seen him since we moved here to MN. Odd. I've seen Garrison a couple of times around town, though.
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)years, and we all forgot what normal is?
MineralMan
(146,189 posts)2004.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,267 posts)This winter wasn't especially cold (I remember much, much colder ones during the '70s), but it's unusual to have so much snow so far into April.
MineralMan
(146,189 posts)except for the city sidewalk in front of my house. I always clear that for the walkers. I just let the rest melt on its own, and it was all gone by that night. I wasn't alone. I think most of the people on my block made the same decision.
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)I lived in South Florida most of my life and would love it when there was some cooler weather because I hated the heat. Now I live in North Georgia just outside of Atlanta and am so happy because I am in an environment that has seasons. The only seasons in South Florida are spring and summer.
MineralMan
(146,189 posts)Winter and Construction. Or so the joke goes.