Cold weather

Today really is winter parka temperature. It is cold out there. But the weather channels seem to think that there is a need for sensational headlines. I’ve read that this week could being the coldest temperatures in a generation. Another place said the coldest temperatures in 20 years. I know that the pace of change is accelerating and that things happen at a quicker pace than used to be the case, but 20 years is a generation? We used to say that a generation took 40 years. I know that generations aren’t the same length in every family, but still.

And while it is true that there are going to be some cold temperatures, I think that the headline are a bit exaggerated. It is 9 degrees out right now and the wind has died down at the moment. It is forecast to warm to about 16 degrees today with winds up to 30 mph. the winds are supposed to die down over night and the forecast overnight low is 4 degrees. That’s cold. People need to bundle up, but it isn’t as cold as it can get around here. It has gotten to -20 since we’ve lived in this house. That was several years ago.

Minneapolis is currently below zero and the National Weather Service predicts it could stay that cold until Friday. You don’t have to go that far to find places that are colder than we are. Bismarck will dip below -30 and Minot is forecast to go as cold as -42. Sioux Falls may see -20. We can keep telling North Dakota jokes for a few more years. I claim that right because I spent seven winters in North Dakota and it got down below zero every one of them. I remember one time when it stayed at about -30 every night for several days.

We’re protected here in the hills and our temperatures are generally a bit warmer than the neighbors on cold winter days. We generally escape the most extreme hot days in the summer too. It isn’t a bad place to live.

I do worry, however, about teens. I observe neighbors and others who head off to school without heavy coats. Sure the heaters in their cars work better and are more reliable than was the case with cars a few decades ago, but it doesn’t take long in a ditch for it to get cold inside of the car. A minor break down can turn serious pretty quickly without help. And even though cars are more reliable than once was the case, things still can go wrong. This time of the year I carry a sleeping bag in my car just in case.

The good news is that I don’t need to take any road trips. We had dinner with a friend last night who is heading across Wyoming today. He’s going towards warmer temperatures and may see 20 above by the end of the day, but still it will be cold and he needs to be prepared. He’s a Wyoming native and will be prepared.

It seems that we have passed the peak of televisions everywhere. I’ve noticed that the televisions in the doctor’s office are sometimes turned off and other places I visit regularly have the sound turned off. Still, it is common to find a television in a nursing home with a half dozen people parked in front of it. Many are hard of hearing, so the volume is usually turned up. I think that it is a challenge to stem boredom in those places and the television is seen as one way to occupy attention. But I’m positive that there is no good that can come from making some of our most vulnerable citizens watch The Weather Channel. The channel seems like something that might interest them, but it is always focused on disaster. And if you spend your entire life inside it isn’t always clear that the video being shown is of a different place or a different time. It all seems pretty real at the time.

Since our nursing homes all have modern heating seasons and the residents are protected from the most severe weather, I think it is best not to have them watching the announcers standing outside in the wind with their parka hoods tied tightly around their faces.

People have been living in the regions not far from the poles for millennia. They have developed systems of survival. It is nearly the end of January, the coldest part of the year for those of us in the northern hemisphere. We ought to be expecting cold temperatures.

My grandchildren live near the coast where the weather never gets below zero. The cold weather gives me stories to tell. In fact, having lived in some pretty cold places, I find that storytelling is a much better way to spend time with an elder than watching television. I turn off the television and someone says to me, “How’s the weather out there?” I respond, “It’s cold, but I’ve seen it colder.” And they are off and running with stories about times when the weather was really bad. When they are telling me stories they know that they are talking about a different time and usually a different place. They don’t have to fear the encroaching weather because they are reminded that they have endured things that were worse.

“I remember when it was so cold the door knob came off in my hand.” “We used to tie a rope between the barn and the back door so we wouldn’t get lost in the blizzard when we went out to feed the animals.” “One time the snow was so deep we couldn’t get out the door and had to go upstairs and go out a window.” “We used to melt snow on the stove to water the horse.” There are a thousand stories and every one of them is better than what you can see on television.

Maybe this week will give us all a few more stories to tell.

Copyright (c) 2019 by Ted E. Huffman. I wrote this. If you would like to share it, please direct your friends to my web site. If you'd like permission to copy, please send me an email. Thanks!