According to the National Weather Service, Michigan receives a measly 22 percent of sunshine in the month of December. That level was substantially lower this year, coming in at a paltry 12 percent. If you ski, sled, skate or snowmobile, you're probably in seventh heaven, the gloomy gray days don't affect your outlook on life. But some folks get downright depressed. That's a loss that people react to.
Deprivation is one of the primary causes of any depression.
While I don't consider myself to be in the throes of a depression, I have to admit that the dreary winter doldrums do set in on occasion. Make sure you include your full name and hometown with your comments. Last week you were introduced to a group of Calendar Girls, mild-mannered representatives of the southeast Michigan village of Milford's garden club and historical society. The women, all in their 40s to 70s, wore little more than their birthday suits in a fund-raising 2001 Milford Beauties Out and About Calendar. The tires were filled in with earth, compacted next to each other, and plastered over to form the support walls.