Day 282
Today I learned two valuable lessons.
Do not go anywhere after November 1st without gloves in my coat pocket or purse while living in this area … and to keep smiling.
It was 66 degrees here yesterday. It was 21 degrees this morning when I let the dogs out. What a difference a day makes. And yes, I know there are variances in weather systems and temperatures even during the course of one day. Denver was champion for having weather changes; kids would go off to school in shorts and need a sled dog on their way home!
But here … I am not (yet) used to the humidity factor because 21 degrees felt like -21 degrees with the wind chill on bare exposed skin. I thought for sure my thumbs (and all the other fingers) would just fall off my hands while I was out gassing up the car.
And I don’t know why this surprises me or why I haven’t expected it. I guess I just forgot that it’s just not cold here … it’s COLD here.
So, I was digging out the gloves this afternoon from the front hall closet that I am now fondly referring to as “the meat locker”. I was going to throw some insulation up in the closet attic today but the rolls were in my car and my car was in the shop getting worked on after it died in the grocery store parking lot yesterday.
No biggie … just the starter and a handful of other things. Nothing major for a 17 year old car with 175,000 miles on it … and it’ll only cost me the equivalent of a round trip flight to Paris.
I think I’m going to have to hang an Eiffel Tower air freshener in my car because I have a feeling that’s as close to Paris as I’m going to get for a while.
In any case – the tow truck driver (Fernando, from Cuba) and I had a lovely little chat about the cold weather and the icy rudeness of people in this area – which was right before a rather nasty altercation from the man parked next to me who was blocked in (for all of 2 minutes) and wanted the tow truck moved, “PRONTO!”
Fernando and I were commenting on how we longed for friendlier people who smiled and waved as you walked or drove by, people who said hello and wished us a nice day in return to our friendly greeting or well wishes – instead of the usual stares we get like we are some sort of oddity.
And I guess we are some sort of oddity because I have found few people here who are just basically … friendly. It’s a very cool area (in an icy, not hip, way) and I find it very sad when people are too busy or angry or out of touch or tired to share a smile with someone while waiting in line, walking along, or checking out at some store.
And though the reciprocity percentage is extremely low that’s not going to stop me from waving or chatting or smiling because every once in a while I’ll meet someone like Fernando who will remind me that there are people around who are nice and kind and friendly.
But, sadly, for the most part it’s looking like it’ll be a cold, cold winter and that my chances of frostbite are pretty good. I’d better get my gloves out to protect me from Mother Nature and as far as for the nature of the people around me … I wish I had gloves to protect me from that!