The Rats are Dead
(Chicago - March, 2009) "It's so cold the rats are dead." That's my new favorite description for the winter of 2009. The chilling effect on the rodent population (reported in the Chicago Tribune) illustrates the severity of the worst winter we've had in decades.
I'm more-than-ready to say goodbye to winter (and the rats). Because I can still feel the bite of
those sub-zero temperatures cutting through my Long-Johns. For those of us in the reporting business, the misery started back in December. Freakishly-cold conditions turned our Blagojevich stakeouts into an act of torture. In more ways than I can count, standing outside his northside home was a miserable ordeal.
Network news crews, entertainment channels, satellite / microwave trucks and crowds of photographers gummed up the neighborhood for a month. We didn't want to be there - and many Ravenswood Manor residents didn't want us there either
But as we all discovered, bitter-cold may kill the rats ... but you can't exterminate the
media - especialy when there's a big story. But it's almost over (finally). Warmer weather's coming soon. And I won't miss the rodents.