"It's January. We know that because we passed the January thaw a few weeks ago, and now, we're into another cold spell. As cold spells go, however, it's really not that bad. Remember, this is North Dakota, and it's midwinter.
You can tell it's January because the people look like snowmen, all bundled and layered. We've turned up the heat and are hunkering down.
That's North Dakota, and I like it.
I knew it was cold when my sister, Lizzy, who is a UND graduate student and has lived in North Dakota all her life, said she didn't want to go to lunch. “It's too cold,” she said. She found a parking spot at the College of Nursing parking lot that morning, and she wasn't about to leave it, even for lunch.
When she turned down lunch, I wondered what she would say to the man who spoke to WDAZ-TV Channel 8 at the onset of the storm Monday night. He had to make to it Devils Lake, the man said. He would go as far as he could. Driving conditions were almost impossible, the forecaster said.
Later than evening, as I sat watching the talking heads chew over and gnaw on the State of the Union address, I wondered how far he got. Haven't heard anything, so I guess he made it. Some people just know how to drive in poor weather conditions."