By Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Feb 10, 2009 at 9:09 AM

I don't like cold weather.

If the rest of this winter -- heck, if every winter -- had days approaching 60 degrees and nights dipping into the high 30s or 40s, I'd be a happy camper.

But, we live in Wisconsin. We get long, brutal winters with all-too-short bursts of fluky pleasant weather mixed in; it's part of the compact.

There is, however, a downside to the recent thaw.

I can't keep my car clean.

Like just about everyone else in the area, I spent time last weekend in line for the car wash. (It was like going to the snowblower repair store after the first blizzard of December).

It felt great to wash away layers of salt, snow, dirt and gook. Grandpa said it and I believe it even though I know it's malarkey: A clean car seems to drive better.

At times like these, though, it's almost impossible to keep your car clean. A half-mile away from the car wash, I drove through a giant puddle and cringed. Then, I hopped on an expressway and got splashed by a semi.

Within 36 hours, my car was dirty again. Not as dirty as before, but dirty enough to make me avoid touching it with my clothes.

It bums me out to have a dirty car. But, there isn't much you can do in these parts. 

Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.