When we lived in North Dakota, I would often hear people say, “30 below keeps the riff-raff out. When we lived there, North Dakota didn’t have much of a social class system. We were there during part of the farm crisis of the 1980’s. Lots of people were facing financial struggles. Their neighbors understood for the most part. I’m not sure about the technical definition of riff-raff, but I think that they meant “folks with a bad reputation,” or perhaps “petty criminals.” I was hoping that they didn’t mean, “People who grew up in Montana and who tell a lot of North Dakota jokes even after spending 7 winters there.” I don’t think I was riff-raff, but then again, I moved after living there for seven years, so I’m not exactly native. Maybe the extreme cold was a factor in our decision to move, though we weren’t aware of it as a major reason.

It is true that certain categories of crime decreased during periods of extreme cold in North Dakota. Where we lived wasn’t exactly crime ridden. We didn’t lock the doors of our house unless we were planning to be gone for several days. We often left the keys in our car, just like all of our neighbors. Certainly if it was below zero we wouldn’t drive past a broken down or stuck car if we were out and about. We knew that other drivers would stop to help us if we were to experience trouble. I once slid into a ditch taking a corner too fast on an icy road. The car was undamaged, but it was really stuck. It only took a few minutes for a farmer to bring his tractor and pull us out. He refused payment for the service.

If cold winters contribute to lower crime rates, perhaps the Dakotas are experiencing a lower than usual crime rate this week. The blizzard pretty much shut things down. In Rapid City, where we lived, the schools were closed on Wednesday and Thursday and they are having a two-hour late start today as people continue to dig out. At one point around 320 miles of the Interstate highway were closed due to blizzard conditions. A lot of secondary roads were also closed. The state highway department is reporting icy and slippery roads all across the state.

Out here, where slippery roads are likely to cause snow days at school even when we don’t think there is any problem getting around, we are having a dryer than normal winter. Even though it is currently cold enough for snow, the roads are clear and dry.

Our attention hasn’t been focused on the weather as much as it has been on illness - a theme that has been resonating in this part of the world and in a lot of other places since we moved here in 2020. Area urgent care facilities and hospitals are overwhelmed with what they are calling a “tridemic.” Covid, RSV, and the flu are bringing in a lot of patients, especially those who are young. Cases of strep are on the rise as well. Families with school children are reporting that their kids are missing a lot of school due to illnesses this year. It seems like one or more of our grandchildren are missing a day or more of school almost every other week. County officials are once again recommending that people wear masks when in public indoor spaces.

We are among the decreasing number of people who have so far avoided Covid protection. We’ve had more colds this fall and winter than usual, but so far the Covid tests have all come back negative. More and more we are hearing of friends who had avoided infection contacting the virus. It seems like each week there is news of another person. Although we have had all of the Covid vaccinations and boosters available and we also received the high dose flu shot, there is some evidence that those who have been infected with the virus have a slightly increased resistance to reinfection. That means that we are still vulnerable. We try to engage in safe practices. We wear our masks when we are in crowded places. And the reality is that we are far less likely to be where there are crowds than was the case when we were working full time. Our work at the church means that often when we are with folks indoors we are masked. Our congregation is still requiring masks in the sanctuary, but we are where others and ourselves have removed our masks during the fellowship time and some small group meetings.

So far, however, we have been fortunate. And now we’re trying to be especially careful because we have a trip planned to visit our daughter and her family in South Carolina. We’re accepting the risk of airline travel because it simply has been too long since we’ve been together. I know that my overall health is dependent in part on being with family. I suppose that we might have avoided a few colds if we had isolated ourselves from our grandchildren who live near us, but we would not be happy doing so. I don’t know how other grandparents feel, but we feel honored to be able to care for our grandchildren. Yesterday the 10-month-old baby was at our house for a couple of hours while his siblings were at school, his father at work, and his mother catching up on a list of chores that are difficult or impossible to do while caring for a baby. I wouldn’t trade those times for a guarantee that I’d never get sick. And, from what I can tell from my friends, even rigid isolation isn’t a complete guarantee. The virus seeks in when not expected. Plenty of people have been very careful and still have fallen ill.

I wonder if 30 below slows the infection rate of Covid. It sure would be good if it did. Folks riding out the blizzard don’t need any additional challenges this week.

Be careful out there. It is a dangerous world. But it is also a world full of interesting and wonderful folks. Don’t stay away from all of them. There are a lot who are worth getting to know.