On Being Cold

On Being Cold

My alarm clock radio turned on at 5:28 AM Monday with "traffic and weather on the eight's." The traffic report went on for a minute or so as I became conscious. I don't drive so the conditions on the highway don't concern me but when public transportation is involved, I like to know, so I listen. "Delays on the Red Line..." "Great!" I thought to myself sarcastically. Then the weather report; actual temperature minus 9, wind chill minus 23.

I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for work. Wearing two pairs of socks and longjohns under my regular clothes, I wore two scarves, one inside and one outside my winter parka: gloves, of course. I normally carry my ipod in a bag but fearing damage from such extreme cold, I put it and my headphones inside my coat.

The coldest it had been since I have been taking public transportation to work was about ten degrees. I dressed the same way then and though I felt a little cold on my cheeks, I was never cold. Today was different. I was shivering by the time I arrived at the bus stop just two blocks from my door. I stood there begging for the bus to arrive, barely able to see as my glasses were completely fogged by condensed water droplets.

I tried to think of other thoughts; anything but the cold. But then I started thinking about another time when I was cold. It was so many years ago when I was living in Laramie, Wyoming; twenty-six years ago. I lived with my first wife in a trailer and the furnace broke down.

My wife was away on a trip back to Illinois to visit her family. I couldn't go with her because I had to work. It was below zero those four nights without heat. The wind poured through that trailer like a sieve. The service man came out the first day but had to order the parts needed to repair the furnace. Actually, I could have died when the space heater I bought set my quilt on fire as I slept to close to it.

I had only been outside for a total of twelve minutes when the bus came. I was so cold it felt like I had no clothes on at all! The bus was warm, thank God! During the thirty-five minute trip to my train station, I warmed back up. It was 6:48 AM. The train would arrive any second, so I thought that I would not get as cold as before, even though the train platform was outside. I was wrong! One announcement followed another telling us that the trains were delayed due to signal problems.

It was more than thirty minutes later and I could not feel my feet. Shivering in waves, I was seriously concerned for my health. I decided to walk to a breakfast restaurant a few blocks away. I worried whether I should go home or warm up and try to catch the train later. As I walked down the stairs from the platform there was an announcement. "An incoming train toward the loop will be arriving shortly." Two minutes later the train arrived, I was on my way to work again.

On the train I remembered another time that I was really cold. It was January of 1966. I was a twelve-year-old Boy Scout at the Klondike Derby, a Winter Campout and Jamboree. But that story is for another time. There were no more delays and I made it to work about an hour late. Many of the other employees were late too. I usually complain because my department is too hot, but I made no complaints that day!

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