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Wayside_Wisdom Heard Along the Way
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MISERY, HERE’S COMPANY! Today it is cold in south Texas! For weeks we have been watching winter on the evening news. Basking in sunshine and balmy 70 and 80 degree temperatures, we’ve shivered sympathetically through Denver’s blizzards. The frigid temperatures in the mid-west and east coast have stirred up icy memories of our past life. We have recalled the trials of northern winter living while silently gloating, "Aren’t we glad we’re here in the sunny south?" Well, Snow-Belt Sufferers, today your misery has company! Sun tops and shorts have been replaced today by fleece-lined warm-up suits. Beach towels and suntan lotion have disappeared under hooded parkas and cozy gloves. Warm greetings have been exchanged for cold complaints! Today it’s cold in south Texas! The local newspaper refers to it as "Whiplash Weather" since the temperature fell 50 degrees over one night! The cold swooped into Texas so fast and furiously that 25,000 meteorologists assembled in San Antonio for the American Meteorologist Association Convention are stranded! It’s really cold in south Texas! A few local public schools are canceling or delaying classes for tomorrow. Shelters are being opened in towns across the Valley to protect the homeless and vulnerable from the cold temperatures. Tonight it will be cold in south Texas! Local news reporters are giving tips on how to protect pets and fragile vegetation from the cold. Weather forecasters predict several days of record low temperatures with the possibility of sleet, snow and winter weather advisories. Drivers are cautioned to beware of slick road conditions. This week will be cold in south Texas! Like February in Ohio, angry gray clouds cover the sky with a thick and cheerless blanket. Our sunny Southland has been captured by strong, dark hordes from Northern cloudbanks! Has the sun left us and gone away on vacation? When will it ever return and rescue us from this cold spell? Brisk, northwest winds have roared down from Canada and swept unhindered across the Texas plains, increasing the misery index all along its way. Wind-chill makes it feel 20 degrees cooler than the thermometer reports. South Texas has become an open-air refrigerator - at least temporarily! So, mid-Westerners, take heart. At least this week your winter misery has company! Deep in the south of Texas, even the cactus is shivering because it’s a cold, cloudy, windy and damp 30 degrees! mshr 16 Jan 2007 |