Students need to accept mild Fort Worth weather
COMMENTARY
Jenny Specht

People who live in Texas experience a phenomenon known as having “one’s blood thin.”
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“Jenny Specht is a senior English and political science major from Fort Worth.”

Yes, that’s right, I am proud, year-round resident of the Fort Worth. I drink Dr Pepper; I have been to the rodeo; I wear a coat if it is less than sixty degrees outside.

In fact, I currently own three wool coats, a ski parka, a trench coat, a pea coat and countless sweaters. I will wear scarves, coats and gloves if it is below forty degrees.

I am not ashamed of this, though since coming to college I have been made by various Northerners to feel as if I don’t quite understand the concept of “cold.”

Despite various stereotypes of stupidity stemming from our drawling accent, Southerners do understand what truly cold weather is. That’s why we live here, away from bone-chilling winds and frozen ice.

My family and I easily assimilated into the climate when we moved here from Kansas. My first year in Texas, when school was canceled after a half inch of snow, I was shocked; but why complain about this glorious weather? My memories of harsh winters include my father waking up at 5:30 a.m. so he could shovel the driveway before work, ice that mandated indoor recess and chattering teeth.

Sure, there were snowmen, snowballs and sledding in a backyard that transformed itself into Antarctica where I was explorer Admiral Perry and my brother Scott played a penguin. However, while I remembered those times fondly, I never missed the actual coldness that permeated my outerwear and seeped into my skin.

The expression Texans use to describe the acclimation to our mild winters is that “one’s blood thins.” This is not a scientific term; I am pretty sure that it has no origins in human biology. Yet it seems the most accurate to describe a transition in which one who can play in the snow moves to Texas and suddenly finds themselves wearing wool when the temperature is above freezing.

My blood has thinned.

But as for my original point, I feel that I have a unique perspective in the Northern/Southern weather civil war. Northerners, I have seen the light: the sun, that is. I have become thankful for every seventy-degree day in November. True, I rant and rave when it drops below, but that is my prerogative.

Consequently, I become very bitter at those who adopt a holier-than-thou attitude towards cold weather. I have, many times, heard my scarves mocked; had my keys taken away because I wasn’t qualified to drive in ice; had my low-grade ice scraper laughed at; have listened to the good weather and citizens of Fort Worth, Texas being criticized.

My response is simple: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Fort Worth, adapt to our weather patterns. December weather here is cold to us. Every time you smile because of the abnormally warm autumn and early winter, make a mental note to forgive its freezing residents a few days later.

Laugh at your friends in Indiana who are wearing snow boots and your relatives in Michigan whose garage door is blocked by a snowdrift.

Become part of the community and accept the weather for what it is. If you chose to come to live here, I hereby proclaim you must defer to permanent residents’ opinions on all matters of weather.

Of course, at this time next year, when I will venture above the Mason-Dixon line to attend law school, I might be eating my words. Rest assured a new coat and earmuffs are in my future.

Jenny Specht is a senior English and political science major from Fort Worth. She can be reached at (j.l.specht@tcu.edu).