Yes, It's Cold Outside

For several days last week, the temperature had hovered in the 30s. I went into the bank and the teller looked at me and said, "No coat?" I would like to point out that I was wearing long sleeves, with the cuffs buttoned, simply for the purpose of keeping people from commenting on my coatlessness. "No," I said. "If I wear a coat, I'm too hot in the car and whatever building I'm in. I'd rather be chilly for the quick dash from my car." The teller one over chimed in saying, "Yeah--I hate to be all bundled up in the car." I added that if I hung up my coat in an office, I often left it there. I was warm when I was leaving, because I'm always warm, and I just walk out without giving it a thought. That is incredibly annoying. Then I moved over to the managers area where the conversation continued--small bank, good acoustics. Both women there agreed that they didn't wear a coat unless they were going to be outside for some length of time. They don't like to wear them in a heated car. And apparently I'm not the only one who finds stores and office buildings uncomfortably warm. I said that I always threw my coat in the back seat in case of a sudden downpour or blizzard. They laughed and said they didn't do that. Then I said that there's always the emergency blanket. I sometimes have a picture of myself standing beside a broken down car wrapped in an old blanket, looking completely destitute. "Nope," each said. "No blanket either." Okay. I may be crazy, but I'm not an absolute lunatic.