That's hot

Every once in a while something tells me I may have lived here too long. Planning a short trip to go with my son to his first year of college. I checked the weather there yesterday and at 8 p.m. it was 84 degrees. So off to the closet to see what i have to wear for that kind of weather. Oh boy. I moved a couple of years ago and got rid of a bunch of stuff I thought i would never need. Apparently I dumped too much. Warm weather clothing? I have exactly one short-sleeved shirt and two pairs of chinos (do they still call them that?) I don't even have a pair of shoes that isn't insulated somehow. As a matter of fact i don't have any footwear that you couldn't call a boot. A whole wardrobe for three days? Starting to look at some older things with a pair of scissors in my hand.

This isn't a new phenomenon. For years I drove a tour boat to a glacier every day all summer. As a result, being around all that ice i had to dress warmly, and by that i mean at least light duty long johns all summer even in the hottest part of July. Times changed and one summer i found myself well inland at the East Pole. Those east and west poles aren't as cold as the north and south ones, Pooh may have found that out, but we will never know. Painting the place in 80-degree weather got pretty warm for a cold-weather guy. And, then, too, I had nothing even resembling summer clothes. I picked up the scissors that time, as well. As a result i might be the only owner in the world of a pair of heavy wool SHORTS.

I took a trip last week, too, only this one didn't involve wings (or heat for that matter). The fellow in the picture is a caribou that wandered around on the road for a while. Wonder how that guy would do in 84-degree weather. But in the Interior of Alaska they run into that sort of temperature now and then.