taste of summer

It is the warmest day of the year so far--69 by my last count--and the streets are teeming with wanderers reluctant to sit in their offices and there's not a cloud in the sky.

Yet Chicagoans, perhaps some of the most resilient folk in the country when it comes to weather, are strangely attached to their coats. Even today, when skirts or dresses without tights, when short sleeves, when even sandals are acceptable attire, the vast majority of the street wanderers still have all their skin covered and they are still wearing their coats, myself included. A jacket has become almost an extension of oneself at this point: we have been carrying around jackets, big and small, for the past six or seven months, and to go without one now is a bit uncomfortable--or even risky. Just like going without an umbrella in summer is inadvisable (due to those mid-afternoon or evening downpours), going without a jacket between approximately October and May is like taking walking on the wild side. Literally, at any moment, even on the warmest day of the year so far, the temperature could start to drop and the warm, happy non-jacket wearer could find him or herself not so warm and happy anymore. It wouldn't be the first time the temperature has changed 20-30 degrees in one day. So we cling to our jackets and our tights (yes, I am including myself with the Chicagoans--I am wearing a skirt with tights and a jacket today), even when they make sweat, even when they seem unnecessary in the face of the bright light sun. It is not summer yet.