In 1981, I was the morning news anchor for the top 40 radio station in Orlando. George, the guy I was dating at the time, was a handsome, dark haired New Yorker who worked in sales at the station. His father had offered him a job selling RV’s at his dealership in Spokane Washington, and he asked me to go with him.  He didn’t have a great relationship with his father and wanted to give it a shot. I wasn’t in love with George, but we had fun together and so I thought, why not? I was ready for a new adventure and Spokane sounded exotic and exciting. Mostly it was a far cry, and trip across the country, from Florida. So, George drove his Suzuki jeep (dubbed the ‘tinker toy’). And without knowing anything about Spokane Washington, I flew out a week later.

And here is what unfolded. It was the end of November. George’s father put him on straight commission in the middle of the winter selling RV’s. The temperature never reached over 17 degrees during the day, the sun never shone and snow was deep on the ground. I had only seen a couple of inches of snow in my life. Once when my father was briefly stationed at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma when I was ten. My sister and I scraped it off the ground and made scrawny snowmen in the front yard. 

I wore long underwear beneath my skimpy Florida clothes and learned how to drive downhill and stop in the snow without skidding.

The Suzuki jeep had no heat. But, our apartment did, so I kept it at 80 degrees.When George’s friend from work came over to visit, he would be sweating in seconds. “Are you growing orchids in here?” he would ask.

Because George had no income, I sold air time at a local radio station.“Now tell me again why you moved here?” asked the sales manager.  I was also a news anchor for the early morning shift at KPBS, driving in before sunrise across town, and I sold women’s clothes at a big retailer on the weekend. I did end up buying a heavy coat on sale there.I lived in it the rest of the winter.

Now, looking back, it was crazy to take off across the country without enough information.Yes, perhaps I should have known better. But no one can tell you, except Google.

Google is now my friend.

I google everything.  Prices on airfares, how to play an A#7 chord, the best Thai curry  recipes and exactly what is static on the radio. Have you ever wondered that?  (which google says can be cosmic background noise from the sun or the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.)

Every important decision should be googled first. This new generation has no excuses.

We lived in Spokane for six months. I could have come back to Florida sooner on my own, but I couldn’t leave George with his asshole father, so I saved enough for us to get back to Florida together.

When I got off the plane, I put on my flip flops and kissed the ground. It was April in Florida.

If you google April in Florida,the average temperature is 80 degrees.