They’re All Out Cold

(It is a very icy day in February, about 29 degrees F. I am bundled up, trying to get home. The rain is falling down hard in icy sheets. Stupidly, I had put on my regular shoes instead of my snow boots, so I keep slipping. The sidewalk is inclined, so I am having a hard time going up it, because it is raining so hard and the ground is icy. Then I hear a shout behind me.)

Crowd: “Hup two three four! Hup two three four!”

(As I watched, a crowd of maybe 10, men and women dressed in SHORTS and TANK TOPS and sneakers, laughing and talking, ran by me, scaled the hill quickly, and disappeared. I was in shock that anyone could be dressed like that in that weather. But they were. I guess they were running to keep from feeling the cold.)