By Jimmy Del Ponte

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

I know that a lot of you read my column because I talk about the old days. So let’s talk about the old days … of last summer when we were wearing shorts and sandals and cut off t- shirts. Let’s reminisce about the days that we sat out in our yards on our lounge chairs while burgers cooked on the grill.

Ah, the good old days! The days before we had to dress in layers, wear wool socks and long johns and our Patriot’s hats with the pompoms. Lets recall those fabulous July 2014 days when we wiped our sweaty foreheads because it was hot out and not because we were perspiring from shoveling snow. Remember when we didn’t have to toss so many shovelfuls of snow that it was actually painful to remove our sweaters? Yes, those were the days my friend.

It’s not fun anymore. The snow, that is. It makes us wonder why we live in this region. A few weeks ago I wrote about the Super Bowl winning Patriots and I thanked my grandparents for settling in Boston. Well, I’ve changed my mind.

It’s 9 a.m. on Monday, February 16. I got back from taking my dog to Powder House Park to TCB (take care of business) an hour or so ago. I found a spot that I fit my truck into and had to walk in the street to get the dog to where he was “comfortable.” Oh, did I mention that the temperature was ZERO? My feet are still freezing. I know how Eskimos must feel.

We had to walk in the street from around the beginning of lower Liberty Ave., near Broadway, to Powder House Terrace where we could access his comfort zone.

On the way back, after successful completion of his duties, there was a car coming down Liberty Ave so I pull the dog over to the side trying to get out of harms way (the sidewalk was obliterated). I was getting nervous as the car was coming down Liberty Ave. toward us at a significant clip. I was trying desperately to hold onto the dog’s leash and keep him out of the street so the car could go by (there was very little street and less space to stand as a vehicle passed).

Just as I thought the car was going to pass us, it takes a wild swerving right down Mallet Street. No blinker. Of course, I had a few choice words to toss at the driver! That’s what this constant barrage of freezing white nonsense does to us. We have just about had it.

Nerves are frayed because we are sick of the snow. We are sick of shoveling out our cars time and time again. We are frustrated when the guy digging his car out gets snow all over our clean sidewalk and leaves it there. We are sick of worrying about the snow on our roofs. My snow blower (bless its 10-year-old 8 horsepower motor) can only throw the snow so high. Sunday the wind was blowing the snow right back in my face and that was pretty painful. I was almost ready to start sobbing when I noticed that the snow pile I was making developed cracks! A real avalanche right in my yard! I got a kick out of that as I was probably getting delirious from the snow blower fumes again. Still, it got a smile out of me.

It’s going to take an extra amount of patience out there as we wait for this crazy winter to go away. We will get more snow without any significant melting so it will continue to pile up. We will wrap our scarves around our necks and faces, wear our hats that mess up our hair when we take them off, and warm the car up before driving off. And when you do drive off, remember that people are walking in the streets and coming from behind snow banks so lets all practice safety. Slow way the heck down!

We WILL make it through this wacky winter even though it seems like it will never end. But until then, lets not forget those good old days of the summer of ’14 when we were young, and crazy, and scantily clad, chowing on burgers, and above all, snow-free and warm.