Cold, colder and colder yet...

 

 

"Is it colder these days than what it was decades ago? Not hardly...

When I was stationed up in Maine, the base was located way out in the middle of nowhere. My first fall up there, I met a young lady who lived with her folks about 30 miles inland. Getting to her house was always an adventure - especially in the winter time. Her parents, very simple folk who lived off the land, insisted I would spend the night in their upstairs guestroom. Her house was a hundred year old farm house, which had recently been outfitted with electricity. However her parents still had no plumbing, and no heat. Water was obtained by using a hand pump in the kitchen, and the only heat was a large Ben Franklin stove in the living room. When ever I stayed overnight, I was reminded of Per Hansa in Giant in the Earth.

I was fortunate to have had that experience. In the winter time, the heat from the central stove would supply heat to the upstairs bedrooms using nothing more than physics (hot air rises). There were times in the morning when I first awoke, I could see my breath. I would be under five to ten blankets or comforters. My first trip outside to visit the outhouse, was not for the faint of heart. After you made that initial trip, you were awake and ready to get some heat! 

When this nation was settled, a common cause of death was freezing to death in the winter time. Without the proper clothing or shelter, weather such as we have been experiencing this year can kill. It can kill or maim, as evidenced by the amputations some have had due to frostbite. Even after the country was settled, early housing was not constructed like housing today is. People, mostly elderly, could still freeze to death in their own houses. The lose of home due to a fire was very common. Back in the day, life was hard and dangerous in the winter time.

Today, our biggest problem with winter is "cabin fever". Nothing to do, no place to go. That is, if you are fortunate enough to have a home or shelter to stay in. For those who have no shelter, winter today remains as dangerous as winters of yesterday. Yes, in 2014 people can still freeze to death. The irony is this - people sleep outside when nearby there are thousands of places where they could spend a very Spartan, yet warm and safe evening.

By the end of this decade, it is my hope can end not only hunger in this country, but also homelessness. We have the means to do so, maybe not the national will. And as far as winter is concerned, we can't control the length and depth of the season. However, we sure can control the danger that comes from it.