Ok, Now This Is Cold!

Though I made my home in the Arizona desert for 30 years, I did leave the state occasionally to visit relatives in colder climes. I carefully chose the months to make such trips, whenever possible. Needless to say the winter months were better spent in Arizona --- just ask the (affectionately dubbed) "snow-birds" currently in their winter nests there. Here in SW Missouri we have experienced dozens of tornadoes, moderate temperatures, and downright warm temperatures. All very unusual for January! Well, today January arrived and, wouldn't you know, it was the day to run all over this lovely little burg. The sun was bright, the sky perfectly clear, and the temperature was 12 degrees. But, that not being bad enough, it was windy! Can you say "wind chill factor"? All this revealed a feature in the truck we had not seen before: instead of just giving the outside temperature, such as 12, or 21, or 31, the display also spelled out ICE. Cute. Bundled up like we were going to explore the arctic, we were well insulated except our noses. I had to look a couple of times to make sure mine was still there. Of course it was, icicles and all!

Yes, now it is cold! Sis-in-law in Northern Minnesota can top --- or should I say, bottom --- these temperatures. That's why I'm still choosy about how far north I travel in the winter. Give me another year or two and I'll be able to handle it!

So now the streets of Branson are nearly deserted. Our discriminating visitors, and most of our entertainers, have flown south for the winter. It is very eerie to drive from one end of "the strip" in a matter of just a few minutes and not see a single out-of-state license, except Arkansas. But in just a couple of months Branson's population of 6050 will be gearing up to welcome over 7 million visitors. http://www.bransonconnection.com/main.php The weather will get warmer, and more humid. But my nose won't fall off due to frostbite.