The weather forecast claims it is going to get as cold as 13 degrees Monday night. Do numbers get that low? Last time I was exposed to such frigid temperatures was a visit to New Jersey a couple of years ago. But then the East Coast has that Olde Worlde weather of famine and Retreat from Moscow-style blizzardry. Out here it’s meant to be more moderate.

If it’s going to get that cold one hopes it will at least snow. It’s good for the dogs. Unfortunately this town shuts down if snow actually falls and sticks to the ground. The bus I take to work goes over Mt. Tabor, so when it snows it takes an alternate route to avoid the steep streets. Last time this occurred I trudged to the alternate stop, only to be befuddled by the bus driver’s reluctance to let me on the bus. “I don’t pick people up from this stop,” he said, “I’m on a snow route.” “That just means you’re supposed to pick up passengers at stops on a different street from usual,” I said. “What’s the point in having a snow route if you don’t pick up people who go out to the alternate stop?” Maybe he thought he was meant to just drive around with an empty bus all day until he was cleared to be back to the regular route.