ANTICIPATION OF BRIGHTER DAYS BEATS HIBERNATION

Are you SAD? Or are you just plain sad?

This time of year, I'm always a little of both. The days areshort and dark, which also describes my temper and mood.

SAD stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder, but it might as wellstand for Surly, Apathetic and Depressed. I'm not the only onearound here who starts feeling lousy in the weeks surrounding thewinter solstice. We live at the right latitude for it. We're notexactly in Alaska's latitude league, but we are farther north thanMinneapolis. We are farther north than Bangor, Maine. We are farthernorth than Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City and Ottawa, for crying outloud.

So our winter days are shorter in Spokane than in just about anyother major city in the continental U.S. And our December-Januaryweather can be decidedly dreary. Nothing like a bracing day offreezing fog to brighten the old mood.

So I have resigned myself to a few weeks of funk and havediscovered several good ways to combat it. The No. 1 solution is togo outside and go skiing. I have tried to tell my bosses that skiingis actually medical therapy and that I should be allowed to practiceit every day, all week, but they short-sightedly call it "beingabsent."

Taking long walks, especially when the sun is out, can also beexcellent therapy. Unfortunately, this becomes more difficult onweekends like this, when you're likely to step out onto thesidewalk, slip on an ice patch and dislocate your shoulder.

Now, however, I have come up with a new idea: hibernation.

Why not just hunker down on Thanksgiving and stay torpid untilValentine's Day? Actually, this isn't too different from my normalway of coping. There are winter mornings when I just lie in bed andlisten to my alarm-clock radio for, I don't know, two hours, beforeI decide to greet the dreary day. (Kind of defeats the purpose ofthe "alarm" part of the device.)

This hibernation idea stems from some research I did on theIndian tribes of the region. Haven't you ever wondered how theyweathered the Inland Northwest's particularly bad winters? Somebands, I discovered, dug pits along the banks of the Columbia River,covered them with skins or reed mats, crawled in and stayed putuntil the days lengthened and warmed.

This is not hibernation in the strict biological sense, but itcertainly appeals to me. I'm tempted to gather family and friendstogether, crawl into a big old pile of furs and blankets, and waituntil the green grass pokes through the snow. It sounds like aperfect way to deal with December and January.

I'm probably romanticizing it. After about a half-day of livingin a pit - one without even the most rudimentary Internet connection- I would probably go stir-crazy. In fact, I learned through myresearch that depression was a common problem among tribes duringthe dark and dreary days of winter.

In other words, SAD has a long and storied history in the InlandNorthwest.

However, I'm already feeling better. The solstice was 11 days agoand the days already are getting longer. And today, we are greetinga new year, 2011, with its promise of a fresh start and better daysahead. It follows that 2011 has to be brighter than 2010, doesn'tit?

Sure, it does, until about Dec. 1, 2011. Then it'll become darkand dreary for a while. Then 2012 will arrive and brighten our worldonce again.

Reach Jim Kershner at jimk@spokesman.com or (509) 459-5493.