Cold Air

ALBANY, N.Y. - It's freezing here in Albany. The weather's turned from a permanent Indian summer to where an window scrape is necessary after two hours out of the car.

Global warming may be changing the region's climate, but there's still enough cold air around for a few weeks of Old Man Winter.

Walking home from Bombers one recent evening well after midnight, I shivered in my pea coat. After three beers, my constricted blood vessels sent a message to my feet: get us somewhere warm - quick.

Throughout December I, along with most of the Capital Region, complained about the lack of winter. Where's the snow, we said, bemoaning the loss of ice rinks, snowball fights and a satisfying cup of cocoa.

Unlike memories, actual winter is complicated, requiring hats, jackets, scarves and earmuffs just to do tasks done in warmer weather with ease. Two hours is enough to wonder how long it will be before a month where I wish for it to be warm without fear that the short-term savings on heat foreshadow a environmental catastrophe.

The temperature only promises to get colder, and I'm bound to complain more. Perhaps I should move to Dubai, where winter is available via an indoor entertainment park. That means I can keep my time in cold weather to hours, not months.