It's all relative

Coming from Upstate New York, cold weather is nothing. This is a place that receives more snow than any other place in the continental United States...an area where you deal with temperatures of 45F in the morning...in August.

Now, the Middle Eastern deserts can get somewhat cold as well. For example, T.E. Lawrence holed himself up in a crusader castle somewhere in either Syria or Jordan (one that he had studied as a college student years prior) during his campaigns in the winter of 1917-1918, as the winter was that cold. Additionally, just last year, Baghdad received snow for Christmas.

But by Upstate NY standards, it really isn't that cold in the mornings...maybe around 45F. Certainly not 5 feet of snow cold. But everything is relative.

I run marathons, so obviously, I run in the mornings. Today was my rest day, so instead of running, I hopped on a bus to get a cup of coffee at base local coffee shop. I was clad in a long-sleeved shirt and shorts, and I even brought along my Amazon Kindle to read a bit of Ovid's Metamorphoses at the bus stop.

I hopped on the bus to meet some soldiers from the California Reserves who were mortified that I'd be wearing shorts in this weather, as they were clad in heavy fleece jackets and gloves. I explained to them that this is typical summer weather for Upstate NY.

Plus I pointed to an excessive amount of hair on my arms and legs. After all, you always see Luke Skywalker and Han Solo bundled up on the planet Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back, but Chewbacca just runs around in the snow as if nothing bothers him. Maybe this is a case against manscaping, who knows.