February 1, 2008 Chautauqua

From the Editor's Computer

As I sit here and type this up, the thermometer upstairs reads –40 degrees! It does not register the windchills that are also prevalent outside today. No matter how you look at it...it is COLD!

Today I took a day off work. It is too cold to be outside safely. It is too cold to be running vehicles. It is too cold to be shoveling.

Now I know there are some folks out there who think that I am just being silly and they will be outside, and going here and there.

You know, it wasn’t all that many years ago when ALL schools would be closed on a day like this, not just the rural ones. Most businesses would not have expected their employees to even consider coming to work in such temperatures (with the exception of medical personnel and other “essential” services). No one would have even thought of venturing out to go shopping (unless for medicine for someone deathly ill) in the city, or “just to get out of the house.” Piano or dance lessons or other extra curricular activities would have been postponed till the weather warmed up a bit (or the wind stopped blowing at least).

On a day as cold as today, the hustle and bustle of daily routine would have slowed down or stopped completely as people hunkered down in their homes to wait out the cold snap with little or no urgency.

I will be staying inside today, as I did yesterday, and enjoying the warmth of the house and a mug or two of steaming hot chocolate. It is also responsible behaviour to stay inside, if you don’t have to be outside.

Beth

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