Brrrrrr....

The chill in Seattle isn't nearly as bitter as the chill in Cleveland, Detroit or New Year but it's definitely cold. The thing is I remember the deep freeze in Iowa in January of 1994. The governor declared a "state of emergency" - though we still had classes (it has something to do with having to pay nurses time-and-a-half - god forbid.) We were told NOT to be outside for more than 5 minutes, avoid bridges and rivers (where the wind comes whipping down with no barriers to stop it.) I made the mistake of getting off the bus a mile from my dormitory by the Iowa River. My eyelashes froze to my scarf and it felt like my core temperature took a slight dive.

That cold snap killed some people in Chicago and in other parts of the Midwest. The negative 20 with a negative 50 windchill took leave and the thermometer broke zero. You would have thought it was spring! People put on shorts and pulled out their Birkenstock - that's the difference between negative 20 and zero - shorts.

Zero felt balmy.

Thankfully it's been over a decade since I've said that.