Oh for a blast of heat from the warm South! The South I’m talking about is located anywhere from Arizona and Florida inthe United States to the beginning of the cold climate in mid-Argentina or Chile. If you’re a true snowbird, there arenumerous areas to choose from—spots in Florida, Texas, Southern California, Mexico, Costa Rica, and even the Caribbean.
I have friends who seek the warmth of Sun City on the edge of Phoenix. They drive their golf carts along the streets andforget about sending any sunshine our way. I have another friend who bought a place at the southwestern tip of Mexico andreturns each year as completely brown as a well-done roast.
As winter sets in here in Canada, it certainly would be pleasant if some of the warmth my snowbird buddies areexperiencing would alter course and push back the cold now striking our valley. However, I guess that only happens in ourdreams or in a dramatic climate shift.
And so we must face the snow straight on, shovel our driveways diligently, and wait for the geese to honk summer back ourway come April. When the direct rays of the winter sun warm our faces as we scrape the ice from our car windows, we canimagine the same sun tanning our snowbird buddies. And we say, “Maybe we’ll join them next year.”
Most of our snowbird cohorts head south in October, some waiting for the golf course to close, others finishing cleaning uptheir yards, and a few prepping their houses for the northern winter while they’re not here. Some simply leave on aparticular date because that’s the travel date they’re used to.
Snowbirds miss out on numerous activities while they’re in the South for six months. My friend David would say they aredepriving themselves of the greatest sport in the world—downhill or cross-country skiing. He would never go southbecause he couldn’t enjoy the exhilaration of blasting through new powder snow. Tell that to snowbirds as they’remeandering along in a warm water pool set up for walking, and they’ll simply smile.
Although there are Christmas lights in places like Phoenix, snowbirds miss the overwhelming aura of Christmas decorating,the smell of fir trees in the Christmas tree lots, and the hunt for gifts in the shops loaded for Christmas. I don’t deny thatthese are minimally available in the South. But the magic of stamping snow off your winter boots and scrambling through adecorated store doorway to the warmth inside and the gift possibilities is immeasurable.
Leaving when they do, snowbirds miss key events such as municipal elections. The two hundred or so snowbirds that fleeCastlegar might be enough to help a local councillor get re-elected. But alas, at election time they’re usually gone.Fortunately, the most recent Federal election occurred on Oct. 19, so only a few snowbirds had lifted off.
Snowbirds don’t have the opportunity to participate in events such as winterfest parades, Santa Claus outings, and pre-Christmas craft fairs. They miss out on viewing the winter seasonal banners along the major thoroughfares. They never getto view the scintillating vista of twinkling trees at spots along Columbia.
This past November weekend, Castlegar’s Sculpturewalk held its awards ceremonies at the Element nightclub, but not asingle snowbird came back to hobnob with the artists and find out the award winners. True, a few snowbirds regret missingthese activities. However, for most of them, these northern events do not equate to being able to walk about in shorts andsip tropical drinks while basking in the southern sunshine.
