Winter's Waning
Although Sunday marks the beginning of spring, in the past few days winter's last gasps have been a reminder of how unpredictable and paralyzing the climate can be here in South Dakota. Last night, before the snow, wind began to howl its way through Sioux Falls. There are so many things I didn't understand before I began living here: lightening, thunder1, snow2, and wind3. If, before I lived here, I referred to a wind that howled, it was by convention. But last night as I heard what sounded like the noise behind Munch's Scream as the window rattled, I understood. Wind howls.
As the snow piled up outside, I found myself trapped inside the apartment. When I go outside in the cold I imagine myself in one of those video games where your character loses energy based on time; each second is a tick of his life going away and if you don't finish the level in time, he dies; I've got between 30 minutes and an hour to live and if I don't get back indoors I'm, well, dead.
Not so with locals. They are brash about it.
Brash.
But I've discovered something about cold: the ones who bear it well aren't "warmer" than others, they are just used to it. And perhaps a little bit more hairy...
1The storms here during spring and fall are magnificent; it is combat between the hot of the plains and cold coming south from Canada.
2The past two years have been "mild" according to the Dakotans I know, and I've yet to experience a blizzard.
3Last week K and I saw semi-trucks that had been blown over by gusting winds.
8:33:43 PM 
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