Okay, it’s winter, we know it’s supposed to be cold. But this is New England, not Minnesota. More specifically, it’s Salem, right on the coast next to the Gulf Stream. It’s not supposed to be -1 degree at 12:45 pm.
It reminds me of a winter 11 years ago. We had the same sort of cold weather. I was in school in Steubenville, Ohio, back then. It was so cold over a stretch of a week that you couldn’t walk outside without having every square inch of skin covered. The wind blew right through jeans and long underwear to your skin. One morning, I had to get up early for an 8 am class. I went downstairs to get my car started and warmed up for the quick drive to the school. Because it was so cold, the car didn’t want to turn over. I had to hold the ignition and key in the start position for at least a minute. In my bare hand. Cold metal. You know what happened. Yep, I got frostbite on my forefinger and thumb. Not too bad, but bad enough.
I also remember that my girlfriend at the time (who shall remain nameless, although I know she reads this
), who is from Texas, was frustrated because ice kept freezing her car door shut. So one morning she decided to pour hot water on the door seam to melt it. Again, you know what happened next. I heard a car horn beeping outside my house and looked out to see her trapped in the car. The hot water had frozen solid and she couldn’t get out. I forget how I got her out again, but I do remember laughing hysterically.
Ah, the ice cold Northeast. Remind me why I live here I again. It’s 71 degrees in Miami today.
Yeah, if I lived in someplace with nice weather, I probably wouldn’t be such a cranky curmudgeon.
I had a high school buddy who went to college at a university in Miami. As a New Englander, he couldn’t handle beach weather in the winter and almost flunked out. Until he switched his major to oceanography. Good move!
Of course, if I could hang out at the beach, I’d bring my wireless-connected laptop and write from there.
To be honest, Chris, it’s where my family is. It’s where my friends are. Those things outweigh the others. And as for locale, New England in the summer is the best place to be. It almost makes up for the winters.
In an ideal world, I would like in New England from March to December 31 and then winter someplace warm. Anybody have a winning lottery ticket they care to part with?