Such Shivering Days As These

Yesterday, as the sun set in the west, I looked outside and saw the evergreen leaves of the Monterey Oak rustling in the cold north wind that had blown all day. The glow of late afternoon painted them gold, and their shimmering radiance under a cloudless blue sky was a glory to see, and the bench at the foot of the tree beckoned. Yet I knew better, for the wind was blowing, and I had spent the previous day shivering.

Now you will pipe in here, that the cold wind was not in fact cold, and that Central Texans must not know what a cold day is. Indeed, there are colder winds blowing in the midwest, and deep snows have fallen along the Great Lakes, and a great winter storm is about to assault the west. So you would be right: cold to us is no cold at all, and yesterday's golden glow at the end of day would have been a Godsent Edenday for many.

Yet, on this point I am not entirely prepared to concede. True, I have seen cold and felt cold, and I do know that yesterday's north wind and my shivering the day before were lame. But...

Come visit us in summer, when the sun is hot and the temperatures high. Come see us when the creeks have run dry and the grasses have turned brown and snakes lie coiled in the dark, shady places between the rocks. Come with us then, and go with us for a run along the trail by the lake. Run hard with us during those dog days, and you will find yourself shivering too on such days as these.

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