Thoughts of global warming grow distant. It is 17 degrees and the wind is howling out of the northwest, dropping the temperature to someplace south of zero. Visibility is limited due to the repeated snow squalls whipped along by that same wind.
It is early February in Northwest Ohio and people are cranky, including me. Various strains of flu have ruined the lives of several people I know and I spent several days fighting a severe cold.
Now having traveled a little, I know that in Tucson, Ariz. the high temperature now is in the mid-70s and you would have to drive to Flagstaff to find a snow shovel. I know that there are a variety of islands scattered across the Caribbean where the only ice ever seen is in the drinks.
Perhaps the worst part is that I cannot be surprised by the weather. With the exception of a few years in Arizona while I was in the Air Force, I have lived my entire life
in northern Ohio. It gets this way! Every year! While some are warmer and some have less snow, winters in northern Ohio are not pleasant, not even for skiers, unless they are the cross-country variety.
The economy is stagnant. People leave to find a future that seems better than the one we all have here. Maybe they are right.
So why stay?
Part of the explanation is inertia, one of the strongest forces in the universe. I am here and moving would require the expenditure of energy. But it is also the place I know. It is the place where my three children were born. It is the place where I developed as a professional. It is the place where I have the best friends the world can offer.
For good or ill, it is my place. I know for sure that, in a while, the weather will change. T-shirts and shorts will replace boots and parkas. Utility expenses will be from air conditioning, not heating.
But always constant are the places I know and love and the friends I am fortunate to have.
I am here because I choose to be here. Northwest Ohio, it is my home.
Richard Kerger is a trial lawyer with Kerger & Hartman LLC. Email him at rkerger@kergerlaw.com.
