That first flush of dashing out into the snow to play at sports has left us — chilled. Now, what you see, when you look outside, is snow piled high over endless, ever lengthening sidewalks to shovel, as well as having to travel to and from work over roads replete with black ice, slush and lots of other drivers who cannot maneuver a car over snow and ice as well as you can, and who really do not belong on the road at all.
Yes, some good song writer could write a wonderful song about the skills of the other drivers, and how they need to be improved. A really good song writer could put it to Irish Step Dance music. This would be good, because dancing to it would help keep you warm while you wait for the tow truck to come pull your car out of the ditch that you slid into when you swerved to avoid hitting the other car, whose driver really didn’t belong on the road.
About 40-pounds of drapery might keep the wind off your legs.
There must be good ways to stay warm, though it is said that fifteen minutes of shivering burns more calories than an hour of any other exercise, such as jogging. Layers of large, bulky-knit sweaters, or jumpers, do help. For women, taking a hint from the way your great, great grandmothers dressed might help. Those women dressed as though they were coming out of an ice age, with their layers of flannel and wool. It is possible that we are now entering a new little ice age, according to those scientists who claim our sun has begun what is known as a solar minimum, and that all the planets dependent on our sun will be colder for a number of years.
For the men it’s a little different.
Traditionally, people have turned to strong spirits to warm up. After all, didn’t the Saint Bernard dogs, trained to find hikers lost in the Alps, carry a jug of rum, to help revive their stranded patients, so that they could lead them back to safety? However, a danger comes with using alcohol that way. Cold weather causes your blood to flow into your vital organs, to protect them, leaving your hands and feet, and eventually your legs and arms, cold. The rum causes your blood to flow back out to the surface of your body, giving you the feeling of being warm. You need to get up and start moving back to safety, immediately, because if you do not, you could freeze to death.
Saint Bernard dog with his cask of spirits.
One of the best things to keep us warm is friendship. Quantities of studies show that we are all social animals. We live longer and much more happily when we have good friends, and we know how to be a good friend. The emotions generated by taking the time to be with your friends, to make good times with them, increase our circulation and keep us wanting to get out of bed in the morning, even though the weather is less than inviting.
You know the old saying:
Don’t walk in front of me, for I may not follow.
Don’t walk behind me, for I may not lead.
Walk beside me, and just be my friend,
For a true friend is a gift from God.