The Cold

As I was writing this blog, the temperature outside was 15 degrees. It’s now up to 30 degrees. It has been below freezing for days now. As regular readers of my blog are aware, I find cold weather devastating. And here I am shivering, even though the temperature in my office this early in the morning is 64 degrees. Thank God, I’ve turned the gas heater on, and the temperature is rising.

As I have mentioned before, between 1962 and 1975, I spent more time in Vietnam than I did in the U.S. I became acclimatized to the tropical heat with temperatures normally well above 90 degrees. I grew so accustomed to wearing shorts and going shirtless that I resented having to bundle up when I got back to the states. Even during the hottest months (July and August) in “the world” (what we called the U.S. back then, as opposed to “in-country,” meaning Vietnam), I found it cooler than I liked.

I have never re-acclimatized back to the U.S. So I am constantly going around in multiple layers of clothing. And during the cool months of fall and spring, I set the thermostat as high as I can get away with. The winter months find me in gloves and earmuffs.

Fortunately, I have a gas stove in my office in the lowest floor of my split-level home where I spend most of my time. These days, it is on constantly. I can’t wait for the balmy months when I can open the glass doors at the north end of my office to let in the warm air from the pond in back of my house.

The weather forecast tells me it will get into the upper forties today. But more below freezing weather lies ahead.

I sure wish I could wear gloves while typing.