Last night I met a friend for coffee. By the time I arrived home it was below freezing outside, and I don't own a coat.

Now normally this is not much of a problem. After four years in San Antonio, then three years in Hawaii, and now another almost six years back in San Antonio, coats haven't been a priority, you know?

But this year has been an aberration here. There've been more than a few days when something more than a sweatshirt or a heavy sweater would have felt good and been a pleasure to wear. But is it really worth going coat shopping?

I mean, if I'm going to buy just one coat, do I make it a long dressy coat that I can wear with church clothes? How many Sundays am I going to need a coat here? Two a year? Or do I go with a sporty three-quarter length jacket that I can wear with most anything else but that I wouldn't be caught dead wearing over a dress? And how much am I willing to pay for something that in a normal year will be worn maybe three times? Would it be smarter to pick up something at the thrift store or on eBay? And then there's color, weight, and style to consider...oh my, just way too many variables for something that will gather dust in my closet next winter.

And then there's this: do I really want to be personally responsible for causing a world-wide disaster? I've thought about this carefully, and I have finally come to the conclusion that there is no better way for me to prove the truth of and guarantee the downward spiral of global warming than to buy a winter coat in south Texas. Is my own personal warmth for one uncharacteristically chilly winter worth my tempting fate to bake the whole world in greenhouse gases for the next million and a half years? I don't think so.

So...I'll wait until next winter and see if this year was truly an anomaly or if we are perhaps descending into a new ice age, in which case I'll think about buying a coat in every color. In the meantime, I will try to park very close to the bookstore the next time I meet Tami for coffee.

Labels: Weather