They call April the cruelest month, presumably because it tempers the promise of spring with the death of the now-past winter. Well, T.S. Eliot, that may have been the case in your estimation, but for my money January is the meanest month for the sheer intimidation of its frigid temperatures. The month just passed is exhibit number one. Happily, we can look forward to February, avoiding the threat of being frozen into a solid entity.
Speaking of threats, did you know that the University of Wisconsin has an office of threat intervention? To my chagrin, it does not deal with climatic threats, but the more significant instances of people making threats against students, faculty, staff or anyone on the UW campus. Contributor Steven Potter outlines the activities of the office and its director, former FBI agent Chris Cole, in this week's cover story.
The university, given its great size and complexity, presents many opportunities to collect malcontents and people with grievances. One or a group of them might actually try to carry through an action against the institution. Hence the vigilance.
Turning our attention from the negative, we regard February as bringing the promise of good feelings. We're headed toward Valentine's Day, for goodness' sake, and there are things we must do to prepare. We are still in the process of collecting the verses for the Book of Love, the Valentine's Day supplement that will accompany next week's Isthmus.
The deadline for submissions is Sunday, Feb. 2, at midnight. If you have not already, get thee to Isthmus.com/bookoflove and upload your words and pictures of affection. Someone you love will be glad you did. And if you really, really love them, take them somewhere warm.
