Two weeks ago there was no snow on the ground. The next week we had two dumps of snow, totalling 50 cm or more. Several times this week overnight temperatures have fallen to -30° C. No doubt about it, this is winter, even if it isn’t even December yet.

Thursday this week I got my lunch at Subway and was served by a friendly Indian gentleman. He asked me, “Do you like the snow?”

I responded by saying, “You probably weren’t born in this country?”

“No, we’ve been here three years now.”

So I told him about the Indian engineer who taught a course in Statistical Process Control that I took perhaps 35 years ago. He told us that the day he and his family had landed in Toronto it was a bitterly cold day in January. His shivering wife and children asked him “What kind of country have you brought us to?”

His answer was, “Look, we all sat around our table discussing this move and we all agreed that there was a better future for us in Canada. Now we’re here and we’re going to learn to like everything about this country.” The next day he went out and bought parkas, boots and toques for all the family, plus skates and toboggans.

I have lived in Canada all my life, this coming winter will be my 83rd. I would like to have a little more of that man’s positive attitude.