Cold? What cold?

My mother has recently moved to the Philly area, and is tutoring at a learning center. She always has endearing stories from the kids she works with, but the one she told us the other night was classic. And it was one that we all can relate to...mainly because we've been on both sides of this story before!

In the middle of the session, she reports this young kid looks up at her and starts on the following conversation:

Kid: Do white people feel the cold?
Mom: Why do you ask that?
K: Well, my mom and I were driving on a cold day and we saw a white person running and he was wearing shorts. I asked my mom and she said white people don't feel the cold.
M: I feel the cold. Members of my family feel the cold. I don't think skin color matters--we all get cold and we all get hot.

She went on to explain that when you run, you tend to feel warmer, so maybe the runner was sweating and feeling warmer than he would have had he not been running.

This reminded me of a "Boondocks" comic a few years ago, where the two boys are huddled together at the bus stop wearing parkas and hats and scarfs, and a man is running by in shorts and a tank top. The one boy looks at the other and says "White people."

I know there have been times when I've seen someone running a race or just a training run in flurries or windy conditions or just down-right inhumane cold, and they are wearing very little. One race I do actually gives out an award for the runner that is least dressed! And it has crossed my mind on if they feel the cold and realize just how miserable it is to be outside in pants and sleeves, let alone shorts! On the other hand, I have also been that runner...running in poor conditions wearing not as much as I should be, and thought other drivers were probably laughing, while I felt absolutely fine, maybe even a bit over-heated.

My response? I would just show one picture of the winners of most marathons and the clothes they are wearing, regardless of the weather.