The same guy who once cowered in his Kansas dorm room at the first sight of snow has now come to embrace the whims of our weather - not to mention the Celtics.

``I feel like I'm always going to keep my home here,'' said Pierce, who made his way through the snow and sleet for last night's 124-105 victory against the Knicks. ``I feel like I'm always going to have something to do with the organization. I've put a lot of time in here, and I feel like I can still have a lot of influence after I'm done playing. I'd like to possibly give something back in a way. So I feel like I'll always have a home here in Boston.

``This is always going to be a part of me. Boston is always going to be a part of me. I feel like I'm going to retire here as a Celtic, so I don't see why I shouldn't always be a part of this team. I'm not sure in what way I'll stay with the team, but I want to be a part of it in some type of way. And a part of Boston, too.''

Even with the weather. He can laugh now when recalling his first brush with snow, but after getting the proper attire he grew to appreciate such life beyond Los Angeles.

``The first time I saw that stuff, I don't think I went to class for a week,'' Pierce said, smiling at the story he's told often. ``I didn't have a big jacket or anything.

``The worst it would get back home is maybe you needed a sweater on the way to school in the morning. But then it would warm up by the afternoon. You didn't have any big changes.''

When playing host to hometown pals during winter, he is amused by their reaction.

``When my friends come up, they want to go outside and make snowballs,'' Pierce said. ``They really enjoy going out there. It's something they're obviously not used to. They want me to come out there with them, but I've already done that. It's just funny to watch them when they see the snow.''

But then the acquaintances shed the chill and return to the land of warmth - and earthquakes and mudslides. However, Pierce stays . . . for more than just his job. It's not like he'll ever give up on Los Angeles or even his home in Las Vegas (which has great tax benefits). But Boston is in his blood, as well.

``I don't mind the weather,'' he said. ``I've adjusted to it. Plus I just like the seasons here.''

Pierce gets to play back in LA on Christmas Day, but it's the memories of his youth that help him warm to the New England conditions.

``Just look outside. I think this is what Christmas is all about,'' he said. ``When I was a kid, my mother used to drive around this neighborhood back home where all the houses on the block were decorated and everybody in the front yard had fake snow. It was the whole block, so it kind of looked like it belonged there.

``We always felt that was what Christmas was supposed to look like with the snow on the ground, the reindeer and the lights. I really liked that, and you get it more for real up here. I think that kind of thing is great, and you have that here with the leaves changing and all that.''

He's been here longer than the Zakim Bridge and he's been more reliable than the Ted Williams Tunnel. He can laugh at the way the Arizona Cardinals looked as if they absolutely didn't want any part of the snow or the Patriots yesterday.

``This weather's crazy,'' Pierce said, ``but it's great. You've just got to know how to handle it.''

Spoken like a true veteran of a January nor'easter.

- sbulpett@bostonherald.com

(NOTE: This item ran under the headline ``The Truth? Hub is home; C's captain says he plans to stay in Boston for good'' in the 1st Edition of the Boston Herald.)