I felt more at home out West than I ever did in Wisconsin. In spite of our differences, Roberta and I loved each other very dearly. The huge age gap b...tween us limited the extent to which we could share experiences, and in some ways, Roberta was like a second mother to me. But most of the time, she treated me more like a peer than a child and because of her, I grew quite precocious. She understood Mom’s obvious preference for her, and tried to make it up to me, by spoiling me to the extent that. Already, the pavement,like the countryside, was covered in a dazzling blanket of white, andthe snow was starting to drift, forming small, shifting dunes. Treesbranches were encased in ice, and there was a fresh, wonderful, andexciting spirit of newness in the frosty air that I found exhilarating.I wondered how much of people's moods and dispositions are informed, ifnot controlled, by the weather. If the full moon could bring out thebeast in a man, why couldn't the weather also affect him for. I flew in and soon I was down between Seattle and Tacoma. I took a cab up to Seattle and checked into the Hilton. I spent a day sight seeing and stopped at the original Starbucks to have a cup of coffee. While having my coffee, I was reading along in the local paper. At the same time, I was thinking about what I would do for the rest of the summer, so on a whim, I looked at the jobs section. There was a posting for a job down at the wharf for a summer intern to work on transportation schedules.. It was obvious that, as many teens do, she had already made up her mind about what would and would not happen, and no amount of logic or argument would change her mind."Famous last words," I sighed.They went off to the mall, which let me get some work done. I had to beat off first, so I could concentrate on the work. I say "had" but I don't want you to think I was losing control. I chose to beat off, knowing that it would calm me down and get the girls out of my head for a while.They got back.