The Best Of The First Year / The Best Of The First 100: Posts 51-99

51. These are the small businesses, the hard workers, which we need to support and keep around. And as we approach Independence Day, I don’t feel like I’m exaggerating when I say that this is the key concept to the American Way of Life…or what I learned that to be:  if you worked hard and treated people with respect, your life would be successful. Somewhere along the way, the message has been lost in all of the rhetoric and politics and greed and politically correctness and other big words, but good ol’ America still exists if you look for it, and when you find it – it needs to be preserved.
52. ...and I was intrigued enough to take a side trip from my side trip.
53. The very nature of being in a rut is deep, complicated, and sometimes paralyzing. Ruts aren’t run-of-the-mill events, blips on the radar, or minor occurrences; they can take over and have a life of their own, gaining control and grinding life to a screeching halt, and it can be a very lonely place to be.
54. But really, it’s too hot to write anything original. Or long.
55. ...sometimes you should appreciate the brightness of where you are right now......not the darkness that is behind you... ...nor the darkness that may lie ahead......but celebrate today, for today, for there will never be another right here, right now......today.
56. …I feel that reflection and review are important. The old adage of “you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been” is one I particularly believe in. As we all go through life, day in and day out, things happen and plans change and roadblocks pop up and detours are made. Without taking the time to stop and review steps, and determining where you are, and where you want to end up, it’s easy to get lost and start to panic and end up roaming in circles, seemingly more and more out of control. Sometimes a checkpoint is needed to be able to stop, rest, reset, and restart.  
57. …we all owe it to each other to collectively try to get through all of the things life throws at us, all of the hurdles and roadblocks and massive boulders that keep us from where we want to be and who we’d like to be. And we can’t do that if we’re bringing misery along as our co-pilot.
58. Why can’t we…be honest with each other? …be honest with ourselves?
59. “Many a time, I’ll look over, and he’s sitting as his desk, muttering to himself and just shaking his head over and over and over again. It makes me dizzy, and I spend all day swimming in circles, ya know what I’m sayin’?” – my betta fish
60. For whatever psychological reason, I abhor hype. I have an instant negative reaction to hype. I instinctively avoid anything that is hyped; the top movies, TV shows, and other entertainment events, as soon as they’re dubbed the “next big thing”, I instantly decide to not be involved.
61. ...take what you hear, apply some thought, some common sense, filter out the extreme, and chances are everything will be OK.
62. As humans, we are single whole individuals, made up of a collection of experiences and influences, and in my opinion, life is understood by taking the whole of us, breaking it down to that detailed list of events, and then placing those back together to explain each of us. Even the human race, our society, our community, can be viewed as a whole that exists as a collection of many different and unique individuals, whom for some reason have connected in a specific way to form that community.
63. …the general theme of all of these [Labor] movements consists of a large group of disenfranchised people who made individual short-term sacrifices in an attempt to become organized in numbers and in power, to be able to force change.
64. “We consider The Rooster to be very unstable and we advise all citizens that if they do see the Rooster, to not take the law into their own hands. Sightings or other information can be reported through our 9-1-1-1 call center. We want to ensure that the Rooster doesn’t go off half-cocked and turn this into a bigger tragedy than it already is.” – Sgt Beaver
65. “That was their biggest mistake”, the Rat says with a small smile on his face.  “Whoever was responsible for this forgot that we Rats can chew our way through many materials. A rope was easy!” – The Rat
66. “This is, I say, this is a clear case of bird discrimination and if it weren’t for The Rooster organizing this, well, I say, who’s gonna wake up the farmers in the morning? A chicken hawk? Ha!” – Foghorn Leghorn
67. Reach out and thank those who are kind, who may need strength, or a little bit of taken-care-of. Be honest and open. Don’t let a good deed go unpunished. Life is short…don’t wait until it’s too late. 
68. Inherently in a conversation there are questions being answered, whether directly asked or subconscious to the conversation. So...let's keep discussing our lists, our debating, and learning. 
69. It’s very rare to feel a sense of togetherness while feeling alone at the same time…there’s something surreally comforting about it.  
70. Independence as a general concept is something that I think we take for granted at times…freedom. The freedom to do. The freedom to be. The freedom to live and learn and explore. Or even the freedom to be stuck within my four walls…and long as it’s not truly stuck.  
71. The Journey, The Travels, The Road Trip: For all your cliché-weaving needs.
72. And that’s the thing I don’t like about should, could, and would, especially when in past tense. They tend to trap us in the past. I think in a lot of cases, too much time is spent in the worlds of the words should, could, and would.
73. 11 hours of peace and bliss and relaxation and inspiration...couldn't ask for anything more!
74. “Allow your life's metronome to keep your steps in rhythm, but let your inner ear guide the creativity that takes you off the page...” – Keisha Mennefee
75. Our purpose in life is our individual passions; they serve a purpose and we each are just one piece of a giant puzzle, uniquely shaped to fit in a single distinct place. The more we try to bend ourselves, the more out of place we are. And like a puzzle, some pieces fit in early, others fit in later, but all of them fit in at some point. 
76. If there is one protest we all need to fight for; if there is one battle we need to march to, if there is one war that needs to be won – we need to fight for ourselves. 
77. We need to slow down…before we break down, fall down, crash down. Before we check out, burn out, zone out, or act out. Too much is happening too fast and we owe it to ourselves, our loved ones, and those around us to take a break and take care of ourselves periodically. We weren’t meant to be this way...
78. I’m not asking anyone to change their opinion[s]. All I’m asking is that we stop and think before we jump to conclusions. If the people who are accused of wrong doing are found to be guilty of said wrong doing, then if it makes you feel better to unleash all sorts of hatred and persecution, go right ahead. But when we jump to conclusions and call from someone’s head, and then we find out that in fact, it wasn’t what we thought, then it’s too late to undo the harm our premature persecution caused. 
79. There is a lot out there to deal with, but if we keep walking forward, and we keep moving, anything is possible, as long as we live.
80. I've always found Penn's Landing to be a combination of many things - separated from the hustle and bustle of the city, but still part of it; a place of concerts and festivals and excitement; tranquil water but industrial as well.
81. [To The Occupiers]:  I wish you luck. Get organized and head to DC. Fight for democracy. Control your message. Specify your message. Be careful and deliberate. Be PR savvy. Be patient and persistent. You’re our best hope. 
82. Time, as exact and specific and consistent as it is, is really a fluid concept. Time…is what you make of it. There is no single answer…it’s all in the perspective. Our perspective. The perspective we choose. So, as consistent as time is, we control it. We control how fast it seems, or how slow it feels. We control how much of time we look at, or how little of time we let go past. And yet, we can’t control the past and we can’t control the future. What’s done is done, what may be is not yet. 
83. …I urge everyone to take a minute from the material gift shopping, find the people in your lives who mean something to you, whether they’ve helped out in some way; look out for you, been there for you, whatever; and tell them how much they’re appreciated, as often as possible. It will mean the world to them. 
84. Be careful of how, and where, and with whom you spend your time. Prevent yourself from getting into a situation you know you shouldn’t, even if it’s hard to prevent. Or, confront a situation which turns into a bad or damaging use of your time.  
85. No one knows what is at the top, and everyone has a different idea of what the ultimate search is for. For 5 billion plus people, that uncertainty is directly or indirectly the driving force behind the climb.
86. What do all of those [holidays] have in common? They are all celebrations of life, of love, of freedom, of happiness, of fun, of thanks. And though it is good to have these annual reminders, shouldn't these be celebrated as often as possible? Every day? 
87. 0 = regrets. 0 = things I would change
88. (moment of silence for all those who have passed away)
89. Even the toughest court case can be solved in less than a half-hour. With commercials.
90. "Good morning Wind...yes, I know you're here again, stinging my face. Yes, I know you won last week, even though I covered all of my face except my eyes, you still made them tear up, and made my nose run. So go ahead, blast my face with your little ice shards. See if I care."
91. Has anyone ever seen an actual milestone? I think I know where one is; I should find it and take a pic. That will be a milestone worth achieving - finding a milestone.  
92. “Now the first thing that we must do is to develop within ourselves a deep sense of somebodiness. Don’t let anybody make you feel that you are nobody. Because the minute one feels that way, he is incapable of rising to his full maturity as a person.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
93.  I know there will still, and always, be times and weeks where I slip up, knowingly or unknowingly. But life isn’t about perfection, and it’s not about being rigid. Make realistic goals. Be flexible. Be honest with yourself. Be kind to yourself. Know where you’re coming from and know the general direction of where you want to go. Don’t treat setbacks as lost ground, treat them as learning opportunities.
94. … the legacy of what we bring, the legacy of our purpose, is what lives on infinitely.
95. It seemed as if the whole world had come to a stop. There were no sounds at all. The blanket of snow covered everything, and muted everything, in a strange and odd sense of peace.
96. If [Punxsutawney Phil] comes out and runs away, then the Mayan-Calendar-Ends-In-2012-So-The-World-Is-Ending prediction must be true, and we all need to run and save ourselves.
97. The more we acknowledge, highlight, and celebrate the struggles humans have had to endure and overcome, and the more we move forward, the more we can ensure that we don’t need to keep adding to the list of groups [suffering from oppression].
98. “I know that there are many “experts” seem to have a “God” complex, like they just can’t be wrong. They go by what they have been taught and seen. Change is a hard thing to accept but honestly each person is an individual and should be evaluated accordingly…”  -Tracy DiNezza
99. SO…where does the road lead me? What does year two bring? Answer:  more of the same. I still have no specific plans; no set route. Wherever the road leads me, that’s where I’ll be. Life doesn’t stop and time keeps on moving. 

The Best Of The First Year / The Best Of The First 100: Posts 1-50

My first post was exactly one year ago today...this is my 100th post!!

Without further adieu, here is a "Best Of..." list; one quote from each post, in order:

_________

1. I firmly believe we are uplifted when we talk and we share; when we teach and we’re taught; when we validate and become validated; when we connect and become connected. If more people looked outward instead of selfishly focusing inward, a lot of the worries have in our society would not be as widespread.
2. … life is not just about the journey, but the journeys within the journey. The little trips in life we choose to take, or many times are forced to take due to the prior choices we’ve made and the directions the pavement runs in front of us. Our journey is a series of intersections and little towns and at every junction we have a choice to make, a direction to choose. 
3. …if we could all form our own opinions about things and be confident in what we believe without having to try to prove to everyone else (and secretly ourselves) why OUR opinion should be THE definitive opinion…maybe we could all get along?   
4. It’s never too late to learn; there’s no such thing as failure, learn from your mistakes, forgive and be forgiven, take the high road, don’t sink to the gutter. 
5. I hope to be back to posting soon, but at times like this, my employer needs me. I hope you understand!
6. The problem with labels is (as Chris Rock implied and I agree): do we stop thinking for ourselves, and instead fall into the trap of labeling or being labeled, which in turn leads to acting without thinking?
7. …I’m not interested in labeling myself, or worrying about labels that anyone wants to put on me, even if they are good labels. I’m not interested in comparing myself to others, or to stereotypes, or to others expectations.  
8. The travels of a Federal tax Cut = simple non-fuzzy math.
9. I try to live my life to appreciate every moment for what it is, as every moment that passes is a moment that can never be changed and a moment you can never get back. 
10. Please, both of you [NFL players and owners], stop whining about being portrayed as whining rich people, count the money you have, stop taking us for dumb…
11. And we all know the theory…get the best defense money can buy. Is THAT where we are, really? My innocence or guilt is dependent on the level of defense I can buy, judged by twelve average random people who aren’t getting paid, who are getting their minds played with, where probably don’t understand the rules?
12. [NFL players] get traded. OK, maybe this is a fair comparison [to slavery]. Oh wait. When a player is traded, many times they end up making MORE money. 
13. The person you are inside is all you need to be and you must protect and cherish and be one with yourself.
14. http://www.irishmemorial.org/
15. …[the remaining citizens of Centralia, PA] watched their hometown get destroyed NOT in an instant, but slowly, very slowly, piece by piece and building by building, over 50 years. I find that strong sense of home inspiring. 
16. “The road of life is always under construction.” – Michelle Hange, Weight Watchers
17. And where we’re headed, I’m afraid, in all this increased focus on quantity, and the resulting decreased focus on quality, is down a road paved with apathy. 
18. I went through the full spectrum of negative emotions when reading [an article about the possible impacts of labels on the success of kids going through school]: sad for those who have to deal with this; fear for what my son may (and probably will) have to go through; and anger that people can be so ridiculous.
19. The most important thing, in my opinion, is this:  how do you define your own happiness? Then the question is no longer “are you happy?”, it’s “are you meeting your personal definition of happiness?”  
20. I shouldn’t be so self-critical during my apathetic moments, for those moments serve a purpose, and being self-critical sends me down a darker path that I’d rather not go down. Life is not worth that, even if at times it seems that our parameters and boundaries oppress us deeply. Life is meant to be so much more, in spite of what may trap us.
21. …we all need a place of solitude – a place where we can go to be totally ourselves, free from stress or criticism or pressure.
22. …when elected officials can behave themselves as they wish, for their own personal gain or motive without regard to the people who elected them into their position, then…
23. Why are there so many questions? Do all of these questions have answers? What if these questions don’t have answers? Will everything come to an end? Will life keep moving forward? Why do we spend so much time on asking so many questions? Are all of these questions a waste of time? Did I just write a post of only questions? 
24. “Now my life has changed and now my eyes can see - Now I'm living on the morning side”  - Steve Winwood
25. I am proud of the fact that a generation of kids growing up in a small suburban town had the chance to experience something different, and so innocently simple, and give that experience legendary status.
26. “The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we're gone, and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, 'cause that's what it does. It's a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it's true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new paradigm: the earth plus plastic.” – George Carlin
27. If we’re not careful, then we start to lose ourselves underneath all the pressure. We stop being ourselves and start being someone else defined by all of the outside measurements and definitions that we allow to change us.
28. “… faith is like a glass of water. When you're young, the glass is full, and it's easy to fill up. But the older you get, the bigger the glass gets, and the same amount of water doesn't fill the glass anymore. Periodically, the glass has to be refilled.” - from the movie Dogma
29. To see the raw power of nature unleash herself is well, awesome. And in those moments, I’m blinded from everything; everything is a blur, being washed away by sheets of water just getting thrown at me from every direction.
30. Whatever happened to the Golden Rule? “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?” Maybe if we went back to that simple rule life would be a lot easier. 
31. “And finally, the objectives of the two games are completely different: In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line. In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!” - George Carlin
32. So, the intentionally rhetorical question I’m left to ask is this:  if the killing of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden has not ended terrorism, what will? If anything? …or is the potential answer that, as Americans, now that we’ve symbolically avenged those who were killed in the 9/11 attacks and since, do we need to adapt our views of, and reactions to, terrorism?
33. And when you’re unique, it’s good to be around similarity. Somewhere along the way, having such a unique cultural background has helped me become comfortable and confident with the fact that I am so unique in many many ways.  
34. As I said, I get my compassion and emotionality (if that is a word) from my mom. I get my patience from my mom. I get my caregiver side (including the part where I get involved more than I should!) from her.
35. What is perfection? What is happiness? An abstract by definition has no definition. And yet we try to define it. Why? Or better yet:  When is good enough actually good enough? 
36. … it felt good to do an honest morning’s work, physical work, and be rewarded by the appreciation and happiness of those who make that YMCA their home, their social life, or their career.  
37. If you live life every day the best you can, then when the end comes, whether it's your end or the end of the world, you can ride off into the sunset. Period. 
38.  “And the pool of liquid hate begins to spin. Round and round it spins, faster and faster. And the faster it spins, the bigger it gets, faster and faster, bigger and bigger, until the whirling pool of hate is bigger than the entire universe and then suddenly it EXPLODES into trillions of tiny stars. And every star has a trillion planets. And every planet has a trillion Uncle Dave's. And all the Uncle Dave's have good jobs and perfect eyesight and shoes that fit. They have great sex lives and free health care. They understand the internet and their kids think they're cool. And they all love their neighbors. And every week, without fail, Uncle Dave wins the lottery. Forever and ever, until the end of time, every single Uncle Dave has a winning ticket. And Uncle Dave is finally happy.” – George Carlin
39. “I think New Horizons provides incredible opportunities for adults to explore music - both at an introductory and advanced level with some high caliber instructors. The study and enjoyment of music keeps the mind sharp and the body in motion. Routine gatherings provide structure to some schedules that might otherwise be fairly empty, and many opportunities for fellowship and friendship.” – Jennifer Horn
40. …centered simplicity
41. Anyone who has worked with me over my 15-year career knows that “it is what it is” is my most often quoted line. It’s an Accountant’s motto and best friend…”it is what it is.” 
42. "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." – Bill Cosby
43. We do the nine-to-five in Corporate America, those of us who aren’t rich, to enjoy the nights and the weekends and family and friends. So as songwriter Rod Temperton wrote for Quincy Jones, who asked a young Michael Jackson to sing, when he was still a young kid in the body of a barely 20-year old kid:  “So tonight-Gotta leave that nine to five upon the shelf-An' just enjoy yourself-Groove-Let the madness in the music get to you-Life ain't so bad at all-If you live it off the wall...”
44. If nothing else, and in spite of everything else, I am definitely sympathetic to it all. And In every situation, I want to believe that this too shall pass. And I hope that turns out to be true. And in every situation, I have hope in that belief. Sometimes it may be the only thing I have to offer, and I know sometimes that may initially add to the darkness, but I have hope. I believe that in the end, everything will turn out alright. And I have no factual basis for that, so I would never win a debate about it. I can’t prove it. Only time will tell. And through all that time, you have my sympathy and belief and hope. 
45. …this situation has taught me some important things too, about how to only worry about the things I have control over, and not to obsess over the things I can’t control. This has taught me to appreciate the good moments and focus on the times we do spend together, and not to dwell about the times where I’m here (in NY) and you’re in PA. 
46. Because in the end, whether it’s driving, or working, or providing, life is about remembering where you came from, knowing which direction you’re headed, and then just going: no excuses, no glory, all guts.
47. … it’s not a question of can or can’t; it’s a question of want and desire and passion. If you want something bad enough, you’re going to do whatever it takes to get to greatness. And if you do whatever it takes to get to greatness, you need to want that something bad enough. 
48. “If you’re not willing to change for the better for yourself, please change for the benefit of your children. Your children deserve for you to be at your best. Be responsible. Be thoughtful. Be selfless. Be mature”. – Antonio Maurice Daniels
49. I am a very generous person, generous with my time and effort and emotion and sympathy, and it definitely opens me up to situations and people and influences that are not good for me. And this is a tough call to make in a lot of cases, because I usually see the good in many people and situations...but I have to learn that just because I can see some good, that doesn't make that situation good for me.  
50. I find Michael Jackson – the life, the legend, the person, the entertainment figure – fascinating. Humanly fascinating, psychologically fascinating, musically fascinating. Not the “charming” definition of fascinating, but the “interesting” definition of fascinating. It seems to me that a study into Michael Jackson’s character and actions would be a study into a series of traumatic events and a stolen childhood, the combination of which stunted the psychological growth and development in several areas of his character.

Situation #99

OK, here’s the situation…my parents went away on a week’s vacation…

No, seriously, here’s the situation…this is going to be one of those posts where I have no idea what I want to write, so I’m just going to write. See, Sunday, February 26^th is the one-year anniversary of my blog. About two months ago, I realized that I could conceivably reach my 100^th post on my first anniversary, really without planning it.  The Accountant in me is pleased that the stars and planets have aligned to reach two milestones on the same day. And as I’ve gotten closer to the “big day”, I’ve gotten closer to the 100^th post. This just happens to be post #99. And I’ve hit a topic dry spell.  It’s a situation…Situation #99.

The 'Mysterious' Illness of LeRoy, New York

I hate to give this post a "catchy" title, because I don’t want to appear as if I am trivializing this, or even sensationalizing this. This has been a big story in the local news here in Rochester, NY. LeRoy is a small town 25 miles west of Rochester, in the next county. Add a few historical events and a lot of speculation, and this has blown up into a national and even international story.

The Importance of Black History Month

(suggested music pairing: Skin I'm In, Cameo)

This month is Black History Month. What does that mean to me? Why is it important? 

In my opinion, Black History Month exists in order to acknowledge, and bring to consciousness, all of the struggles that African Americans had to endure in American history; to highlight the measures taken by many individuals to help break that prevailing wisdom for the entire group; and to celebrate some of the accomplishments achieved in spite of those conditions.

I use the term African-American in this context, as I am focused on peoples of an African descent living within America. I am not normally as selective in my choice of terms, but in this case, I want to remain specific to this subset of peoples.

As a group of people, African Americans who lived during this period of oppression, which I define loosely as the 1600’s (when the first slave ships started sailing to what would become America), to the 1960s, are in a unique category. The definition of oppression in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power “. I’m going to add to that definition; where that exercise of power led to a denial of basic rights and freedoms under the fear or threat of injury or death.  

Many groups of people have been oppressed in history, and each group’s circumstances are different. Women’s oppression was for a longer period of time (well back in European history), but the threat of death in general wasn’t as pronounced. The height of Jewish oppression was for a much shorter period of time, but death was more than a threat. (I strongly recommend visiting the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC…it is a very intense experience.) However, in many cases you cannot necessarily look at a person and instantly tell they are Jewish. Other groups of people coming to America (Asian Americans and Latin Americans) were generally not brought here against their will, and did not have to endure slavery, but still had to ensure oppression.  The point of comparing is just for the sake of comparing and contrasting; to recognize that each group of oppressed people had their own circumstances and battles to overcome, and some similarities can be drawn with them all. The point is not to stack rank each group to determine which group comes out on top as “most oppressed.” The more we acknowledge, highlight, and celebrate the struggles humans have had to endure and overcome, and the more we move forward, the more we can ensure that we don’t need to keep adding to the list of groups.

I’m not going to get into any deep discussions of any specifics of Black History. When I look at Black History, here is my definition of Black History within the timeframe I specified above:   a group of people who were betrayed by their own kind, brought somewhere against their will, and forced to work in unhealthy conditions against their will. This all occurred in an environment where freedom was proclaimed and celebrated but denied for generations.  This all occurred in an environment where to crack under pressure was to be killed, or sent somewhere else, against their will, to some other place similar or worse. And this occurred for generations, without promise, without an end in sight. Grandparents and grandkids knew no different. Assuming the family unit was kept together, when more often than not, it wasn’t. And even as their government (not of their choice) proclaimed their freedom, their government didn’t put any practices in place for another several generations, so as they gained one freedom, another freedom was taken away. And all that was done based on outward appearance, and usually outward appearance alone.  

Take a second to try to imagine that.

And within that circumstance, within all of that, individuals fought overwhelming odds and great personal sacrifice to stand up and take lifelong journeys, unselfishlessly, to fight. The names that all get equated with Black History Month, the Rosa Parks, the Frederick Douglasses, Dr. King, Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, Stokely Carmichael, and dozens of other recognizable names, and hundreds of relatively unknown names, all looked death in the eye and still said “Enough.” No Internet, no automobiles, no protection, no assurances – walking hundreds of miles, spending nights in jail, physically assaulted and attacked, spit on, shot at, and killed. 

THAT…THAT needs to be remembered. And learned from. And we all need these reminders. And in each oppressed group, there are examples of the same kinds of people, both in American History and World History.  Those are roads we do not need to travel down again.

____________________

“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it” - George Santayana (Spanish born American Philosopher, Poet, 1863-1952)

“Know from whence you came. If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go.” - James Arthur Baldwin (American Essayist, Playwright and Novelist, 1924-1987)

Groundhog Day Predictions Updated

(pic from Wikipedia.com)

The legend of Groundhog Day, of course, stars Punxsutawney Phil and his annual prediction:

- If he sees his shadow, then Spring is right around the corner
- If he does not see his shadow, then there will be six more weeks of winter.

Of course, this winter really hasn't been a winter, so "they" announced a new prediction:

- If he coughs up a furball, then the real winter will begin.

But why stop there?  We've severly underestimated Phil: