The Absent Uncle: Those weather reports ...

As I sit in my nice, warm, cozy Houston-area house watching the national weather I end up having all kinds of reactions. 

It is mid-February and I really don’t have to tell you Brandon Valley folks about the difference between seeing it on TV and feeling it when you open your front door (nor have I forgotten the difference!). 

This year for me has been a bit of noticeable change in my physical comfort. I seem to have lost that thick Minnesota blood that allowed me to disdain the use of a sweater or coat in this mild southern winter. This year I have been chilled. Wearing long pants and some sort of second layer on my upper torso seems like most days has been normal in order to be comfortable. 

Nothing like the old days on the farm at this time of year. Prior to my folks building a new house next to the original farmhouse in 1967 – it was cold in that old two-story farmhouse. 

My upstairs bedroom had no heat other than the stovepipe that was routed through the floor and into the attic. The bedroom that faced the south regularly had a small drift of snow on the sill from the amount of air allowed through the window frame. Since my bedroom faced the east, for the most part I didn’t have as much “breeze” coming through the window, but still had frost on the window.

But you know what? When you were in that bed with the “blanket” sheets used in the winter, with a ton of quilts on you, it was just as comfortable as could be.

Until. 

The linoleum floor with a few throw rugs here and there was icy cold. You had to think ahead and plan what your moves would be when you lifted the covers off of you and made your way to the bathroom or to get dressed. Efficiency was vitally important. 

And it wasn’t rare in the coldest of mornings to see your cloudy breath as you moved around. 

When the folks built the new house in the summer of 1967, it was a huge change for that winter. It was warm! No breeze around the windows! Carpet to walk on! And they had installed the new technology of radiant heat from small electrical wires imbedded in the ceiling plaster creating what almost felt like sunshine warming your body when you laid in bed.   

What a huge difference. About the same as living in South Texas from South Dakota this time of year. 

As I told a Minnesota friend of mine last week after he described what he was dealing with, “I remember those days”.