The Weather Gods Must Be Crazy

You can tell that today's illustrative photo was not taken today. Firstly, I do not have on my hipster glasses. (And, rabbit trail here, does anyone else notice how weird old glasses look? I didn't mind going out in public in these glasses, even thought they were kind of spiffy, and now they look too-wide-too-skinny-too-bronze-too-everything.) But secondly, I have on my wool hat and winter coat and in Small Town America the forecast for today is 74 degrees.

Seventy. Four. Degrees.

I know, you folks in the upper right corner of the nation are either bracing for or already buried under Snowmageddon 2015. I saw the news reports last night that showed grocery shelves empty of bread and refrigerator cases holding not one drop of milk, and Husband's morning dose of the Weather Channel was filled with giddy forecasters standing outside in their LL Bean parkas.

Deep down inside those of us who live in Kansas are a little jealous.

This kind of extreme weather normally belongs to us. We are the hardy breed, not you Easterners. We whine and complain about the weather that is toooo hot, or toooo cold, but down deep we're proud of ourselves because we choose to live in this land of extremes.

So we let you choose the fashions we wear and the television shows we watch, we follow your lead in the getting or not getting of tattoos and piercings, we let you pick the newest food trends and we go organic and gluten-free because you have done that, although we follow all these trends about five years after you lean any specific direction.

We let you make all of these decisions because WE OWN THE WEATHER.

Yes, we do. Record-breaking heat? We hit triple digits way before you did. A cold snap that stops our water dead in its tracks? Yup, that sends you scurrying to the hardware store for insulating tape to wrap your pipes.

If the East Coast wants to see what its weather is going to be like in a week, it merely has to see what Merril Teller has for the Sunflower State today.

That's why getting dressed today was a little confusing. What do you wear in January when it's supposed to be 74 degrees? Sandals with tights?

The weather gods must be crazy, but that's okay. A little bit of crazy feels like sunshine, and this means now it's our turn to pick the next television trend.

I choose an Idris Elba channel.