BUNDLED UP

This blog post will leave some of you shaking your head. You won’t be alone. Many in my household are shaking their heads including me! With this kind of weather, cold nights, I am one of the last people you will find outside for any reason. However, tonight (Thursday) will be different. I’m going to Five Flags Speedway to watch the races. Although it will be warmer than it has been the past few nights, it is still too cold for me.

I will be going with a couple of guys who are also hunters. They have given advice on how to stay warm and have even loaned me gear. Yesterday I bought a pair of fleece lined thermal underwear. I didn’t know they made such a thing. I will be well bundled with some mighty fine gear, wearing some contraptions I had never seen before. Most importantly, I have a plan for my arm.

First, I’ll have heat packs wrapped with elastic bandages next to my skin. Next will come my “nuclear” shirt. This is a very expensive but very warm shirt that I got several years ago. I will then put a neoprene sleeve on my right arm that Eileen made several years ago out of a heavyweight diving suit. Then will be my thermal shirt and then another heavy shirt. I will then wear a hooded light jacket and a heavy down coat. For my right hand I will have more heat packs and ski-grade gloves. Of course it’s important to keep the core of my body warm so it doesn’t deplete blood from my extremities to keep it warm. I’ll also be using hunting gear to keep my neck and face warm.

This may seem like overkill to some for temperatures that will be in the forties. However, it is not for me. Will all of this keep me from hurting by the time I get home? No, not at all. When the sun goes down this time of year, there is an atmospheric change or something that hits my arm hard. I’ll get a little more used to it as the season moves along but I know I’ll still feel its full effect tonight. So, I’ll be very much bundled up and see how it goes. I hope I’m not left with my head shaking wondering what I did that for!! Oh yes, there is one more cold weather precaution I’m taking tonight. I’m driving. If I get too cold, I’m heading to my vehicle and turning the heater on!!