Those of us in Western NY are waking up to a cool and sunshiny morning. Absolutely springlike. Residents in Colorado experienced up to two feet of snow, cancelled flights, missing electricity and wicked wicked weather. I'm sure many people (I'm one) in this area are saying, "Thank heavens that's not us."

Ridiculous item of the day: A woman who used French truffle oil to quiet a squeaky toilet seat (cost of a 3 oz bottle: $50); two men who knocked themselves unconscious while opening their car doors; a man who burned down his front porch after not fully putting out his cigarette; a man who used an $80 bottle of Chardonnay to make a wine spritzer (cost $6.50) for a customer; what do these people have in common? They were all nominated for the village idiot award. The award has been handed out for a number of years in Story, Indiana, and given to the person who gets the most votes at the Story Inn's saloon. The winner: a man who used a circular saw to cut through a live wire to replace the inn's steel roof and he also damaged his 98 Dodge truck, the day after he got it, by getting it stuck atop a whiskey barrel planter. Wonder what he was doing.

That's it for now. Wherever you are today, enjoy it.

paul