The weather forecasters are still calling for a big something on Monday and into Tuesday. New England will see a continuum of heavy rain along the south and southeast coasts changing to heavy snows inland. With systems such as these, there's no typical behavior to expect. Nor'easters behave in one way. Alberta Clippers behave in another. In this case, however, a change in either distance from the coast or even 100 feet in elevation can make a big difference in the amount of snow vs. rain.

News from north of the border is that Canada won't participate in the missile defense (defence) program. The U.S., in response, says, fine, we'll just shoot over your heads. The U.S. ambassador to Canada, Paul Cellucci, is a sort of an acquaintance. We used to live in the same town when he was a state representative (like an MLA). I was a reporter and talked with him frequently. His father, who owned a local car dealership, was a real character and worked tirelessly on behalf of the town. Paul later went on to be state senator, lieutenant governor, governor, and then ambassador. This is probably my closest connection to the famous, although one time I did stand next to Elton John in the Boston Tower Records store.

As I've mentioned before, I often listen to the radio during the night. The local NPR station broadcasts the BBC World Service. The BBC's Washington correspondent, Rob Watson, is returning to England after many years of reporting from the States. Last week he wrote a piece, rebroadcast this morning, in which he shared his impressions of America and its people. He called it a love letter. It's reminiscent of Alistair Cooke's Letter from America series.