Like A Bum – Surviving the Chicago Winter
It doesn’t matter how high I set the heat in the winter, I always feel chilly. Maybe it’s because I’m just surrounded by cold, or maybe it’s because I’m more sluggish in the winter, preferring to stay sedentary rather than get out and about, avoiding the cold.
In Chicago, going places means being outside. Not because the places we go are outside (most of them are not), but because going anywhere in Chicago will require you to spend some time outside. Chances are pretty good you’ll be walking at least three or four blocks.
Now, I do want to say that this is likely the same in every major city, so don’t read this as saying New Yorkers have it easy (cause I’m positive they don’t). First, you’ll have to walk a block or two to your car, because your neighborhood is so popular (like every other neighborhood) that everyone wants to park there. If you don’t have a car (or don’t want to dig it out of the mountain of snow with which the plows have so generously gifted you) you’ll probably have to walk a block or two to the bus, and then likely wait.
Of course, waiting in springtime is wonderful, especially with the cool breeze that’s ever-present in the Windy City. Waiting in January, however, is likely to be more like spending time in a deep freezer: Great for your hamburger patties, not so great for your sanity. So while it’s hardly ever an issue spring through fall, when it starts to get cold it means you’ll be spending at least fifteen to twenty minutes outside on a day when you really should be inside. Honestly, that makes it a little difficult to get up and go.
So what do you do? Well you have two options, really. Option 1: still dress to impress, and just accept that you’ll be cold. Option 2: wear layers. I prefer option two. I’m not sure if that makes me smart or if it just makes me a shabby wimp, but it DOES make me warmer than all those impressively-dressed shivering people on the “L” platform (no offense, you really do look quite well-groomed).
However, I am not likely to be one of those well-groomed individuals during the season of Frozen (ranging anywhere from three to six months). As such, I invest in layers. And I love zippers on sweaters. The only hoodies that I ever wear regularly all have zippers so I can regulate the warmth after hiking it to the bus (or to my car). In fact, my favorite hoodie is probably five years old, and my wife would prefer that I throw it away. It has holes in the elbows and a worn seem on the hood. The zipper area looks like it’s been sanded by heavy machinery, and any elastic on it has given way to the eventual sag that is inevitable on any clothing that has lived well beyond it’s useful life. And that’s what I’m wearing right now. 😀
My wife tells me it makes me look like a bum. Of course it does. That’s because it’s the type of thing I’d wear if I was going to be outside all day. Because it’s warm! It’s tried, tested and is bum-approved!
So if you’re out there in the deep-frozen Chicago winter, and you see a bum wave at you, please wave back. It just might be me.
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