January 19th, 2025
It’s a solid three degrees Fahrenheit outside. I spent a short time in God’s freezer earlier today. I had to do some shopping, and when I cranked up the car, I saw the hated “low tire pressure” light. I wasn’t surprised at all, but I was still frustrated. Sudden temperature drops almost always cause it to pop up. There must be one tire with a bad seal that loses just enough air to trigger the light.
I found a gas station with an air pump. Most every filling station has a pump. The trick is to find one that lets you fill your tires for free. The Kwik Trip has an air pump that costs nothing to use, but it is almost always in use or broken. Today it was broken. So, I went to a Shell station and paid $2.50 to inflate the tires up to 35 lbs. I found that annoying for several reasons. One was that it seemed ridiculous for the owners to gouge a customer for using the business’ air. Another reason was the fact that I had to fill the tires in the cold and the wind.
It’s nearly impossible to get the tiny plastic tire caps off while wearing gloves or mittens. So, I had to remove them with my bare hands, and then I just kept my gloves off while pumping up the tires. It didn’t take long before my fingers got red and stiff. Then they hurt, and they kept hurting for quite a while after I finished replacing the caps and drove away.
The episode reminded way too much of the days when I worked as a supervisor on a loading dock during the winter for a local trucking company. The dock was not heated, and the hundreds of doors in the building were usually wide open. The outside temp was the inside temp. My superiors insisted that I do all of my computer work on the cold dock. I never understood the logic behind that. That was also a job that could not be done well when wearing mittens or gloves, so I took them off. I remember how my hands would ache after a while. I would take a break in the warmth of the office and wait there until the pain ebbed away. Then I would go outside and start the process all over again. That went on for an entire shift.
I retired nine years ago, and I am grateful that I did. As I age, my tolerance for cold weather diminishes. On days like this, I am happy just to sit inside my warm house (like I am doing right now) and look at the frigid landscape through my window. The few minutes I spent pumping up my tires today helped me to recall why retiring was such a good decision.
Frank is Emptiness 