It was 11 degrees in the FC when we left the house this morning, and there was a nice layer of ice on the ponds. The FC is generally a few degrees cooler than Shelby County, so we dropped the kids off at school in 15 degree weather. Anyone who lives north or east of Nashville is probably asking ,"And your point is...???" Well, my point is, for folks around here, it's COLD! Cold enough for a Severe Weather Alert.
Most kids here don't really know what a coat is for or how to wear one. You can tell them it's cold outside so wear a coat, and they grab fleece hoodies and little jackets. They roll their eyes and stomp their feet when you tell them to get a real coat, which they do not zip up and usually stuff in a locker or backpack when they are out of your sight. Maybe today they will be glad I made them wear their Big coats, but I doubt it. I doubt they will spend enough time outside to even figure out it's that cold.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of kids around here who do not have a Big coat and can't afford one, so when we get days this cold, they suffer not by choice (like my kids) but by circumstance. It was big news yesterday when a Memphis child succumbed to the cold walking to school and was taken to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital with frostbite. Seriously, the story got as much local coverage as the plane landing in the Hudson river. So if you have a spare coat, child or adult size, donate it to a coat drive.
In the mean time, bundle up, check on your elderly neighbors, and stay warm! Especially you Yankees and Midwesterners who are a little warmer from chuckling over our Southern inability to cope with a little cold weather. And y'all around Greater Memphis and of course the FC: hang in there--tomorrow's high is 48!
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