Just Give Me Some Sun…Please!

So, this week it snowed again. Just a few inches (I can’t believe I said “just a few inches”). Not a continuous avalanche of snow pouring into every crevice of outdoor space like the last storm, but just enough to annoy us just the same.

I must laugh because after I cleared off my car, I decided to not shovel my driveway as I would normally do. Seriously, why should I have to clean up all this snow when I didn’t put it there? Right then and there I concluded that if I ran over the snow in my driveway enough times, it would flatten it enough to preclude shoveling. And the weather report which declared the temperatures were rising toward 40 degrees convinced me that the sun would do the rest of the job by melting the snow on its own.

With that decision made, I got into my car with a clear conscience to get on with my workday and whatever else needed to be taken care of.

What is interesting is that every second person I bumped into during the last month of abnormally low temperatures and abnormally high frustration with snow says the same thing: “I have to get out of here and move south!” or “I just can’t take it anymore!” or “I’m getting on a plane as soon as I can book a ticket—call me when the weather gets better!”

And that’s when the thought came to me from all this that someone was missing out on what could be a lucrative business opportunity of creating a space (like a huge warehouse or some such building) right here in town where you could go to “get away from it all” with all the trappings of a Caribbean island without the expense and the flights. It could be decorated to resemble a sunny island, with heat lamps bearing down on you from the ceiling like the hot sun, tropical foliage like palm trees to provide ambiance, a sandy “beach” with lounge chairs in front of a blue wading pool of warm water. And as you bask in the “sunshine,” waiters would be serving piña coladas and grilled burgers as you listen to the (recorded) sound of waves lapping on the “beach.” Pure heaven.

Of course, after an hour or two, you’d be back outside in the cold dealing with the ice and snow once again, but at least you would have enjoyed that tiny tropical getaway until the next day, when the cycle repeats itself.

I presented this brilliant idea to my husband and waited for his response. His answer to me was “Okay, how much would you want to invest in this project from your own pocket?”

Suddenly, my idea did not seem so brilliant, and I realized that I had better go back to the drawing board and come up with an alternative plan for getting through the rest of this frightfully cold winter. So much for brilliant plans! If I come up with a new one, I’ll keep you posted! 

Anessa Cohen lives in Cedarhurst and is a licensed Real Estate Broker (Anessa V Cohen Realty) with over 20 years of experience offering full service residential and commercial real estate and management services. She can be reached at 516-569-5007. Readers are encouraged to send any questions or scenarios by email to [email protected].