When we visited Switzerland for Christmas, I thought our biggest gift was the Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage, which barely qualified as half of our checked baggage allowance.
That gift did indeed make quite an impression on our young grandchildren, but I'm beginning to wonder if we didn't also bring a gift of more widespread impact: Florida weather.
While we were there, Switzerland enjoyed its warmest January on record.
Meanwhile, Florida was experiencing weather that looked more Alpine: snow in Tallahassee, freezes in Central Florida. There were days when it was significantly warmer in Lucerne than in Orlando.
And that's not all. On January 3, a storm, named Burglind, brought Florida-style hurricane-force winds to Switzerland, wreaking havoc across the country and blowing away previous records. Winds of over 120 miles per hour were measured on Lucerne's Mount Pilatus. That's a high Category 3 hurricane if you live in Florida.
Now that we're home, the weather appears to have stablilized in both places.
The conclusion is obvious: It is we, not George Bush or Donald Trump, who are causing climate change.
Is anyone interested in providing us an all-expenses-paid vacation to somewhere up north? Buffalo, New York? Minneapolis, Minnesota? Hillsboro, New Hampshire?
Sorry, as much as we like seeing you, my family would be quite upset if you brought Florida weather here. They are skiers, you know!
Wasn't there a time many years ago when you repeatedly jinxed Old Saybrook weather and offered to be paid to stay away on holidays?
Probably. It's rather like Porter's friends bribing him not to watch Red Sox/Patriot games.
