Keller @ Large: Boston's Bad Weather Blues Are All Relative

BOSTON (CBS) - Returning to Boston on Friday night after a few days in Florida, what I saw out the airplane window was, strangely enough, reassuring.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

Dirty snowbanks.

Oceans of slush.

Ice.

In short, the essence of early March in New England. After last March, which was nicer than some Junes we've had, maybe you forgot what it looks like.

And if Friday's surprise snowfall left you down about winter's tenacity, keep in mind, it's all relative.

One night down in South Florida, the temperature was set to dip below 50 degrees, and the locals were in a state of near-panic. It was the lead story on the 11 o'clock news – a "bitter blitz," one station called it.

I saw people out in bright morning sunshine wearing gloves, wool hats and parkas, giving me and my shorts a dirty look.

Or maybe they were just responding to my dirty look.

Anyway, it was bad, but not as bad as the behavior of Los Angeles voters, who stayed away from their recent mayoral primary in record numbers. Just 21 percent turned out, in part, reports the New York Times, because "the weather, partly cloudy at 59 degrees, was chilly enough to keep some Angelenos at home."

What happens if there's fog in the forecast too? Does everybody in LA run out and buy bread and milk?

But I have to thank the thin-blooded residents of LA and South Florida for making me feel better about being a relatively-hardy New Englander. The bad-weather blues are all relative, it seems.

After all, to someone in Buffalo, Boston right now looks like a tropical paradise.

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.