My Morning Coffee

Today I woke up early 7 AM, and went to the Moab Recreation Center for a little exercise. As I'm driving I notice the temperature gauge says it -5 degrees outside; coldest night of the year so far, and you can feel it. I see a kid in running tights, a hoody and a scarf wrapped around his face, jogging down the middle of the street. My thought is that hypothermia has already set in and he doesn't know it yet. He moves to the side and lets me pass.

I make it to the gym...it's really nice, state of the art equipment. I plug my ipod into the treadmill, pick the band "Everclear" and I'm off for a 40 minute run. Beautiful floor to ceiling windows, I can see the sunrise creep across the red rock canyon and watch the school kids trotting from the buses to the school building all at the same time.

Later at the Red Rock Bakery I'm minding my own business when a gentleman of about 55 comes in wearing shorts and a parka. I've heard rumors of some locals who refuse to wear pants in the winter, this is not a dare between buddies to see who's tougher....it's just a local thang. He tells us that it's 3 minutes by bicycle from his house to the bakery; I'm thinking the wind chill alone must be -25 degrees!! His legs are looking pretty pink, but he's happy and nonchalant about it. I saw him later that day peddling past the gallery, I'm assuming he was heading home, still in shorts.

Did I mention that the gallery neighbors stopped by to ask if I had any water available because their pipes were frozen? I hadn't noticed but mine was frozen solid as well. Apparently some waterlines in town aren't deep enough to remain open during the deep freeze. The landlady called the city and we are now on the list to have the water meter thawed by city forces, but it could be days before they get to us. I went to city hall and used their restroom.

Ok, last thing.....I'm really digging the local radio station. It's completely solar powered and the DJs are volunteers. The music selection could only be described as eclectic which is great, totally digging it. Today's hot song was, "Mama Found My Bong" by Rick Mahan......only in Moab.