The Coldest Day in Kirksville

Kirksville, Missouri, February 11th, 1983

I awoke in my bed with my dachshund curled up next to me, shaking like a leaf. My feet were so cold I couldn’t wiggle my toes and my fingers felt like ice bricks. I covered my dog, Poppy, with my heated blanket, along with myself, and turned it on to the highest setting. I reached over to my night stand and grabbed my glasses. I put them on my face which instantly made it colder. I looked over at my thermostat. Forty-seven degrees!?! That can’t be right. I got out of bed, put on my slippers, and tried to turn the heat on. While doing so I realized that my thermostat wasn’t doing anything, it had stopped working. Great. Coldest day of the year and my heat doesn’t work. I looked at the clock. It was 6:03, which meant I had to be at work in about three hours. 

I decided to walk to my kitchen for some coffee since I was already awake. I left Poppy in bed and wrapped myself in my fluffiest robe. Once my coffee was brewed I walked over to the window to check the outside temperature. It was -12 degrees, the coldest it had been since 1943. Walking to work will be wretched later.

I decided it was probably a good idea to get a fire going in the living room. I grabbed some wood from the hall closet and started a fire. It took longer than usual to get the fire going due to my fingers being practically numb, but, eventually I did get a good fire lit. I also grabbed the small heater and plugged it in beside me. 

I turned on channel 12 to watch the 6 o'clock news. They were covering a story of a young girl who had fallen in a lake while ice skating the night before. Apparently she snuck out with some friends after dark. Anyways, long story short she died of hypothermia. What a great way to start the morning.

 I decided to turn the TV off for a bit and make some breakfast for me and my girlfriend, Crystal. I heard some rustling in the bedroom so I assumed she had just gotten up. I made Crystal a bagel with blueberry cream cheese and some eggs with cheese for myself. I heard Crystal shout “Honey, why isn’t the heat on?”, to which I replied “It’s broken, I’ll have to call the electrician later,” to which I heard no response. She entered the room wearing my care bear onesie holding Poppy. She walked over to me, gave me a peck on the cheek, and thanked me for breakfast.

I fed Poppy a mix of wet and dry food and put it in the microwave. I know she would do the same for me if I was a dog and it was freezing. I put it on the ground but Poppy showed no interest, instead she walked over and laid by the warm fire. She usually didn’t eat until mid day when Rachel, our dog sitter, was with her. 

Me and Crystal got all cozy on the couch and turned on the TV which was showing the weather portion of the news. It was a high of -5 degrees with possible flurries around noon with a low of -15 degrees. The next section of the news was an announcement that most places were closed except for essential places. This included grocery stores like the countryside market where I worked, whoo hoo. This didn’t include places like salons like the one Crystal owned. She got up to call Rachel to tell her she didn’t need to watch Poppy today.

When she walked back into the room she declared that it was a good day to clean the apartment, to which I agreed. I loved it when Crystal would clean. I knew that when I got home it would smell fresh and she would be happy and proud of herself. She would also most likely make me dinner. In the winter, dinner would typically consist of soup or a nice pasta dish with then occasional chicken pie, my favorite. 

I clicked the TV off and decided it was time to start getting ready for work. It was almost 8 o’clock and I had to leave at 8:45 if I wanted to make it to work on time. I turned the water on to the shower and brushed my teeth. I checked the water temperature and it was still cold. That’s right, the heater wasn’t working. I decided just to wipe myself down instead. Afterwards I called Crystal into the room to check if I smelled OK. She said I did but to put some perfume on just in case. I put on her favorite perfume and started to curl my hair. I decided to do a down hairstyle to keep my neck warm. I did a light makeup look of blush, mascara, and lip gloss. I then put on my outfit and headed for the door.

As I was about to put my shoes on I remembered I had to call the electrician. Luckily It was only 8:30 so I had some time. I gave them a ring and was on hold for ten minutes. I guess a lot of people were having electrical issues that morning. When the guy finally answered the phone he said they couldn’t come and fix the issue until Monday. It was Wednesday. I decided I would wait to tell Crystal until after work. I gave her a quick kiss and then I was off to work. 

On the way to work I ran into a couple of neighbors who were extra chatty. I also ran into some of the neighborhood dogs and their owners. I had to stop to give them a quick pet. I pulled my scarf over my face as it seemed to be getting colder. I ran into my friend Chris who was riding his hog. He stopped and we chatted for a bit about the weather and other related topics. Just as I was about to wave goodbye he offered to give me a ride to work. I politely accepted. This had been happening quite often since Chris had retired. I think he just needed company.

Chris dropped me off at work and was on his way home. It’s a good thing I caught a ride with him or I would have been late. As I walked into work I felt a wave of tiredness and depression come over me. There were only a few customers in the store and my coworkers looked half asleep. Everything seemed under control so after I clocked in I went next door to get everyone coffee.

When I gave everyone their coffee you would have thought I just saved a family from a burning building by the look on their faces. Everyone gave me a huge smile and most of them even gave me a hug. I felt very warm and fuzzy inside. I put my coat and other things in my locker and got to work.

After a few hours I thought I was going to fall on the floor. It was so quiet and warm, perfect for a nap. I decided to pop the greatest hits of ‘72 CD into the stereo which helped everyone feel more awake. It felt like the hours were going by slower than before as the clock struck three. 

Around 3:15 the power went out, sending everyone home. I stepped back out into the ice age and nearly got knocked down by the wind. I asked my coworker Janice if she could drive me home. She agreed and I offered to pay for gas but she refused to take my money. She’s always been my favorite. She was always happy to help with anything whenever someone needed her. They should promote her to manager. 

When I got home Crystal was lying on the couch in a tank top and shorts sweating like crazy. She was fast asleep and I decided not to wake her. I took Poppy outside and she very quickly did her business and dragged me back inside. The apartment was picked up but still visible dirty. I decided to do a little dusting. I popped in Crystal’s mix tape into our Walkman and dusted for about twenty minutes. 

I began to grow quite hungry and I figured Crystal would be hungry when she woke up; she usually was. I made us some blt’s with turkey bacon and a side of fries that I had stuck in the oven. I walked over to Crystal, kissed her on the forehead, and woke her up to tell her I had made us lunch. She was very happy, and then confused. “Why are you here so early?” she asked, “The power went out at the market so everyone got sent home,” “Oh.”

We sat at the kitchen table and smiled at each other as we shoved our food into our faces. Crystal made us some more coffee and we turned on the radio. Classical music was on which was nice to listen to while we ate. After we ate we watched our soaps for about 2 hours. I didn’t realize it had been that long and by then I was time to feed Poppy again. I gave her the usual with a little sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. 

I started a book I had been meaning to read called “Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurty. Crystal got it for me a while back and said that I would love it. After about a chapter I drifted asleep.

I woke up to the sound of the vacuum and the smell of fresh laundry. Oh how I Love that smell. Crystal came over and apologized for waking. “It's OK,” I said, “It’s almost dinnertime anyway.” She had lit my favorite candle which was scented Strawberry Fields. I got that for Christmas from my sister last year. 

We decided to call blockbuster to see if they were open, they were not. We decided to watch “Stuck On You!” which had come out the year before. I had only seen it once and Crystal hadn’t seen it yet. She decided to make chicken Alfredo which was delicious. I’m glad I’m dating a cook, she’s better than my mother. Don’t tell my mom I said that.

After dinner we watched our movie and snuggled with the dog. Just as the movie was ending the phone rang. I answered it, it was my manager. He said that the power wouldn’t be fixed until Friday so I had the next day off with full pay, yippee!

We decided to go to bed around 9:30, we were both pretty tired. I put out the fire, moved the heater to the bedroom, and put my PJ’s on. Crystal took Poppy out and got herself ready for bed as well. We both fell asleep soon after we laid down.

So there you have it. The coldest day of the year was much like any other day for me. I spent most of it with my dog and my favorite person who kept me warm. I think I’m going to marry that woman.