Snow Days...or Snow Jobs?

Remember a time when having a day off from school due to SNOW was about as easy to come by as straight A's? We never seemed to shut down. We just plowed through knee-deep snow to school...no arguments, no discussions...that was THAT. Do you find yourself relating such tales to your kids (or grandkids) ? Well this week, the FWCS system had problems one on top of the other. First off, the biodiesel fuel used in about 30% of their buses turned to Jell-O (here's one case where everyone DID NOT like Jell-O), clogging the fuel filters (anyone recall the push to Moscow by the Germans during WW2 and how THEIR vehicles froze solid?). The school system has since recitifed THAT problem, but another one persists. That of having the students KNOW HOW TO DRESS FOR COLD WEATHER!

How many times do we see kids wearing (what looks like) SUMMER-WEIGHT clothing...in WINTER-WEIGHT weather? And has ANYONE these days heard about BOOTS? You know...galoshes (like the ones with the four buckle clasps the firemen used to wear) , overshoes, "rubbers" (no, not THAT kind)...things that keep your FEET DRY and warm??? I mean when "we" went out to play in ages past, we were bundled up SO damn snug and warm, we couldn't frigging MOVE, let alone play. I still don't know how we overcame the physics of it and managed to even have fun. We could have scaled EVEREST with the LAYERS of clothing we had to endure....and endure them we DID. With all that clothing on, the ONE thing you did NOT want to do was FALL DOWN (unless a friend was around to help you up)!


And we grudgingly trudged off to school in like manner..because our PARENTS demanded that from us. Not to mention, we could always WALK to our schools, public OR parochial. Even when we had to wait for a schoolbus...we were "kitted out" like the 10th Mountain Troops unit (even Sir Hillary would be envious)...only thing missing was a pair of damn skis (and a rifle)! And our parents made SURE that all the clothing we TOOK to school came back HOME with us...preferably ON us and not tucked into our schoolbags.

Today is a whole different animal.

Many parents today must think that snow on the ground and being cold outside is just so many numbers and pictures on the weathercast, not to be taken seriously. Ever hear of WINDBURN and FROSTBITE, people? It can happen, and easier that you think. Used to have a gym teacher that said..."This cold wind blows THROUGH you".

Parents must be OK with sending their kids off to school looking like spring "sprung" last week...short jackets, no scarves, no gloves or mittens (remember "idiot mittens"?), no boots, just "athletic shoes" aka sneakers, and little if anything on their heads (pssst...do-rags don't count as protective headgear against the cold). And you WILL lose at least 25% of your body heat through your scalp! The kids are just as bad with the long t-shirts hanging down near the waist of their sagging pants (belted snugly at the thighs). And let's keep that jacket UNZIPPED as that minus 20 degree wind blows you down the middle of the street at 7AM...OK?

I recall a time where I couldn't WAIT to get my Air Force parka...the one with the day-glo ORANGE lining with drawstrings to keep the howling winds AWAY from you, and that fur-lined "snorkle-style" hood! Now THAT was warm...as was the navy wool pea-coats! The military sure knows how to keep a grunt warm, if not happy...!

Cripes, people robbing banks in Fort Wayne are better prepared for cold weather...they (at least) hold up these places wearing full face coverings (like balaclavas)...LOL!

Well, it's no wonder that colds and flu thrive when kids are as ill-prepared for arctic-like weather, isn't it? And it's not like stores DON'T sell that kind of gear...they DO...people just don't want to send their kids to school looking anything but "stylish", I guess. And of course the kids weigh in heavily in that regard. THEY need to impress their "friends"..screw conventionality and practicality. Face it...when you HAVE to wait for the bus on a frigid corner for 15-20 minutes (or maybe more), what's better for the safety and health of the kids? It's not like they have heated kiosks with warmed benches for the kids (uh oh....there's a plan to waste some taxpayer money) at those stops, right?

Better to look a little "weird", and be WARM, than to look "fly" shivering your cajones off trying to impress that cute 6th grade girl wearing her PARKA!