The second I got home I checked. It’s 34 degrees out. That’s 3-4. My converter widget that I can put on the desktop tells me that.s “1.11111” Celsius. That’s not typical for Seattle and we’re not happy. That’s cold. And it’s been cold and it wants to stay that way. Whine. (high of 35 today if we’re lucky)

I went out today to the post office to drop off books, check the LCC po box. On my scoot home, through the neighborhood I passed a house I pass all the time. Just a little house with a yard, and a little porch on the front up the stairs. Enough space for a chair.

Remember how I said it’s 34? On said porch there was someone sitting and reading.

Stu and I giggle at Seattlites’ responses to the sun; it can be in the 40s or 50s and people will walk around in shorts. I remember seeing the same dopey behavior at college – I went to a school that was (it seems) always shrouded in fog and gray, so the appearance of the sun was enough to trigger a celebration of knees. I mean I was as stupid as most of us when we were young and too cool to put on a hat, and too cool (figuratively and often literally) to wear a jacket. You remember. And the UPS guys and often the mail carriers are in shorts, even in chilly weather. But it’s 2 degrees above freezing; we had a dusting of snow on the ground 3 days ago when I awoke at something like 7:30. It’s cold.

At least the person on the porch there wasn’t in shorts. Note I am not using an adjective. Because I have no idea if it was a man or woman. Sitting there in a small – looked like plastic – chair on the small crowded porch (I didn’t want to stare – ok I did but I didn’t want to get CAUGHT staring) was a person reading. Wrapped in what must have been minimum 3, maximum 5 layers. Long coat. Under which was a hooded sweatshirt – I could see because the person had the hood up. Sunglasses. Gloves. GOD knows what else. The only hint that there was a real person under there was about 3 inches of face visible above the scarf and around the area of the sunglasses.

I tried but failed to figure out what would make someone sit outside on a covered porch (oh yeah, there was no direct sun on the person) and read. If you were running from bad smells or something, wouldn’t you at least find a coffee shop? (there are at least 2 within 3 blocks) No cigarette or cell phone that I saw, so I don’t think it was a “don’t you smoke in this house” situation. Clearly the person had bundled up and was prepared for the um, the um, ordeal. But I simply cannot imagine sitting outside in the almost freezing day, bundled up to the point of probably immobility (who can move with that many layers on) and enjoying a book. Can you?