I would have loved to have gotten this feeling this morning. However, I wasn�t met with snow. I was met with sludge.

For you Southerners, that mud and slush mixed together -- and there�s nothing crisp or enjoyable about it.

All snow in the city eventually turns to sludge. Sidewalks pick up dirt from the feet of pedestrians. Streets pick up dirt from the tires and underbellies of cars. Even the small plots of grass meant to beautify the city during the three months of non-winter weather absorb all of the crap in the air and take on slush�s icky qualities.

For some reason or another, massive amounts of slush accumulate at all cross walks. With a couple inches deep of muddy and icy wetness at each corner, you step lightly and hope for the best.

Walking in the snow beside the slush isn�t always a sure-fire way of avoiding getting your shoes wet either. Sometimes there�s slush under the fresh snow, giving you something to legitimately bitch about.

Amazingly enough, only one sidewalk wasn�t at least shoveled before everyone started crunching through this morning�s slush: the one at the state building. I slipped and slid every few steps, damning the state employees who were undoubtedly on a smoke break in one of the building�s smoke rooms instead of clearing the sidewalk for safety.

Wouldn�t if be something if I were walking, slipped, fell, and cracked my skull in front of the state building? It would be worthless to sue, as they�d just raise taxes to pay it off, and I�d be paying the increase each month to help pay for litigation against their negligence. All in all, I�d likely wind up even, minus the goose egg on my noggin.�