Thanks to the big freeze of 2014, Washington, D.C., has temporarily lost bragging rights to being Wimp City USA.

Despite being tougher, more determined and having better snow and cold weather equipment, this week’s deep freeze caused schools and government offices in places that never surrender to close.

Since wimpery loves company, we in the nation’s capital salute you, and welcome you to the baby-its-cold-outside club.

Folks, students and feds from Minnesota to Boston and Chicagoland either decided to, or were ordered to stay inside Monday and Tuesday as dangerous arctic-like temperatures seeped down below the 38th parallel.

On Monday, we started hearing from half-frozen feds in outposts that normally don’t close for any reason — certainly not the 1 to 3 inches that can sometimes semi-paralyze DC. But this week they joined our ranks. Consider this Monday message from Tony in Ohio, who also wrote one of the guest columns that ran while I was away. He’s back with this:

” I am sitting at home since I got the call at 5 a.m. that our office is closed. We got blasted the last two days and blown out the driveway three times in the past 20 hours. Now ,wind and the deep freeze is supposed to hit us. I just got in from blowing out the driveway the third time — the damn plow driver likes to make it hard to get in and out of my driveway, leaving 4 foot-high and wide piles of snow right in the drive. Don’t want to lose any mufflers. My 4×4 truck can go through that, but the wife’s car cannot. Kinda thought the office would be closed, I got out last night and roads were already terrible. Thanks again for letting me write for you again, but the comments most think I’m dead on. You talked about a book, would love to collaborate with you on a book, writing about how feds are important and getting that message out to the public. Not only would be a morale booster for Feds, informational for a misled public. Thanks again! — Tony K.

If you are reading this in San Diego, Key West or the Galapagos Islands, please try not to smirk. There is such a thing as karma you know.

NEARLY USELESS FACTOID

Compiled by Jack Moore

Sea otters holds hands when they sleep so they don’t inadvertently drift away from each other.

(Source: Mental Floss)

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