Because of the recent cold weather, my journey brought back memories of winters past. I spent my formative years in west Texas on a ranch (cow/calf operation); and winter was not a good time to be a cow. Mother cows were range cows with no man-made structures for protection. During the bitter cold mornings, my task was to break the ice crust on the stock tank/pond with an ax in the early morning hours for the cows to access water. In tandem, dropping bundle feed or hay off the back of a pickup completed the work — Cold, cold!
My Army days produced more ice-cold memories, which I do not forget. In Europe, during field training exercises the policy was “no cover on jeeps” (reason — something about observing enemy aircraft). Imagine riding in subzero cold at 40 mph in an open jeep? In Korea, at Camp Casey, the morning PT was scheduled for 7 a.m.; and temperature had to be under six degrees for the road run to be canceled. During Ranger training in north Florida in the winter, on a patrol I walked all night through a frozen swamp with each step breaking the ice underfoot — Cold, cold, cold!
I have heard it said, “a man will do anything when he is cold to get warm.” Incidentally, the coldest temperature recorded in our area (Camp Mabry-San Marcos) was minus five degrees Fahrenheit on Jan. 31, 1949.
