A funny story about wearing layers. When I went to school in winters when children still walked more than a mile in crummy weather, I would be bundled up. Long johns, jeans, a wool skirt, two pairs of socks, boots pulled over the bottoms of my jeans, a turtleneck, sweater, knit hat, mittens (sometime gloves inside the mittens), one scarf around my neck, one scarf around my hat, knit legwarmers, and an anorak. I’d wobble my way to school, backpack barely on my shoulders and a flute case flopping in one hand. My shadow looked like an emperor penguin. I’d get to school and remove boots and one pair of socks and put on the sneakers in my locker. Then I’d step into my locker (I was short) and remove the outer skirt. Once I had the anorak off and the other extra layers, I looked like a teenager again — mostly braces and frazzled hair. I was lucky, though. My school had heat, and so did my parents’ house. I didn’t have to always dress like an emperor penguin with a strange Cosby Show sense of style.
My mother was hell bent and determined that I would get an education, but I wouldn’t freeze for it.
Now, the UK, the deep south of the USA… both are dealing with crippling cold temperatures and snow. I’m not sure when the last time was that I heard the weatherman announce that portions of the Mississippi have frozen. The Midwest of the USA is dealing with crazy crippling cold and crazy snow. My sympathies to all of you, and a few coping ideas for people suddenly faced with strange driving conditions (those of you in the Midwest probably already know this, so move along). The folks on NPR said people on the BBC were looking for ideas, and I’m gullible so hear y’are:
- Keep a blanket in your car, bring a flashlight with fresh batteries, travel with water in a thermos, fuel up your car to half a tank no matter what, etc.
- Read up on how to drive on ice and snow. The American Association of Automobiles always has links up on this. (Note: there are instructional videos online from the 60s and 70s that were probably still used by the Driver’s Ed teacher to explain what to do in the snow, but I learned on cars without antilock brakes. It’s all a bit different now.)
- And for goodness sakes, stay home if you don’t feel safe going out in heavy driving snow or braving black ice on the roads. If you have a heart problem or a bad back, now is not the time to shovel your walk or dig out your car.
If you’re in one of the hard hit areas of the UK or the USA, and you have the luxury, stay home by the fire or the radiator. It’s a great opportunity to knit or plan next season’s garden. If you do have to go out, only go out for short bits of time and bundle up. There’s better technology out there to keep kids and grownups warm. No need to be a penguin in a loud sweater.
End of my amateur PSA. I’ll go back to knitting tomorrow, hopefully. Right now I’m planning on getting some salt in from the car, in anticipation of the inevitable. It’s winter.