Meet Me in St. Looey

Fifteen days in a row...and counting; there's no end forecast for the immediate future, either. SAD? You bet I'm sad, and if you live north of the Arch, you're probably not feeling all that chipper yourself. See, St. Louis is the line of demarcation from the happy people :) and the people affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder :( Fifteen days of cloudy skies in a row sets a new record, though I'm not sure who keeps such inane statistics concerning meteorology: probably the tanning bed folks or Dennis Flack, ace meteorologist. The old record of fourteen was set just as God created the sun or it evolved into a fireball from an amalgam of gaseous matter spinning through the universe, whichever you prefer.
All I know is that school kids are cranky even after almost two weeks of vacation. They are dazed and confused on a level far beyond the usual. Combine the agony of arising five hours earlier than normal in order to get to school with a lack of vitamin D on all these cloudy days, and it's a disaster. The fact that the days are getting longer all the time doesn't mean squat when there is nothing to see but clouds. I'll bet the folks in St. Louis are chuckling at that one. They can probably see all the way OVER the arch today.
There are some positives, however; my back doesn't hurt from shovelling the mountains of snow (on which I have to walk to school touching the telephone wires). Aging has definitely slowed down since I "keep" better in the cold (ever hear of a heated morgue?). In another two weeks, the first semester will be completed, and we'll ALL be on the downhill slope for this school year...though generally, that's like waiting for the other shoe to drop!
Also, the people in the Pacific Northwest get rain 30 days in a row this time of year, and it's probably only light for three hours in Alaska. So, while it could be worse, it could also be better. I'll see you at the Bowling Hall of Fame in St. Louis.