Cut to last week when we were in Florida. It was in the low 40s, and I heard a woman tell another woman who was going out to "look for fuzzy socks" because it was so cold, "You can't go out in weather like this!"
Every place has it's own "you can't go out in this" weather. When we lived in Tucson (where "yeah, but it's a dry heat." Don't get me started!) people were terrified by precipitation. All over town were "washes," basically paved ditches. During the summer there was a period they called the "Monsoon season." Brief periods of heavy rain could cause flash flooding. The only rule in Tucson is "stay out of the wash." Yet every summer firefighters would have to pull a kid out a mile down from where they wandered in. People in southern Asia would mock the Tucsonians calling their rain "monsoons," But every summer when dark clouds roll in there is a sense of a people who have never seen rain before, as if they should be wearing loincloths and shooting their primitive arrows at the menacingly strange drops. And, sure enough, once we were at a party and Eric was going to head down about a half mile to a video store. It was raining, and someone said "you can't drive in that!"
In Virginia it's the snow. They get snow. They have snow removal plans and equipment, though not enough. The weather channel sends the warning - "heavy snow forecasted." People panic. They have to get home. The Beltway gets jammed. Before you know it there's a police officer controlling shoppers in the milk aisle at Safeway (this is not hyperbole. I saw this). "We may never get milk or bread again!" Sure I had Oreos in my hand, but Marshall Law milk ain't worth it.
Back to Tucson. Heat is a relative issue. They act like it's not really heat, because it's a"dry heat." Do you know what humidity gives you? A cushion against the sun. Without humidity, your skin feels like dried-out newspaper, one that maybe has a headline featuring FDR and the great Depression. Without humidity you are a human fire hazard. As Eric said, "I'd gladly trade sweating for nosebleeds and dried out skin." But, if you're from "dry-heat" you say, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." Humidity presses on your lungs, the air too thick to breath. Your clothes are sticky. It's all relative.
The British say, "there is no bad weather, just inappropriate clothing." The ultimate in weather relativity. Winter number one in Germany I froze, I actually cried a few times when I was outside for long periods. Frozen tears, frozen toes, frozen tundra. Then I got scarves. Then I got hats (and I am not one of those girls who look cute in hats). I fell in love with Polar fleece and cashmere. Then I got UnderArmor running tights. Wear 'em under everything. Then I got fur-lined snow boots. Wowza. Then it was snowing and I was taking a long walk, happy as could be.
So, what's the weather like out there?
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