What's the coldest you've ever been for, say, 20 minutes or more?

The temperatures in the teens and lower on Monday and Tuesday this week, coupled with the 30 mph and higher winds, were pretty brutal. Makes me glad I have a desk job. And that I bought a good winter coat before Christmas.

But I haven't been really cold for a long time (since taking my desk job 32 years ago). There are three instances in my life where my teeth were chattering and I thought my ears or nose were going to freeze and drop off.

The first time was in high school. I was on a team trip to watch the Patriots play the Dolphins in the old Foxboro Stadium. I don't remember the temperature, but one of the NFL Films highlights of that game showed a brave (or inebriated) man with his shirt off and steam coming out of his mouth and nostrils. We had traveled down on a warm school bus. I wore boots and warm socks – not thinking that my feet would perspire. Well, by the third quarter, I thought my feet were frozen. On the way home, I took off my boots and socks and wrapped my coat around my piggies. I think they thawed out by Kennebunk.

The second time was only a short “ice cube” moment. I was helping Dave Bean at his lobster pound at night, in January I think, when I went down a ladder, hit the green slime, and plunged into the frigid water. After I quickly surfaced, Dave’s father, Dick, ordered me to go see his wife in the nearby house. She fixed me up fine with blankets and, I think, some of Dave’s clothes.

The last time I was “really cold” was about 33 years ago. I was still tending bar at Everybody’s in the Meadow Mall and on a cold January night, everyone had gone home. I had to lock up. The problem was, it was snowing, it was after midnight, and I had not gotten my driver’s license yet. Sometimes my wife would come get me and other times, owners Ken or Geoff Marston would give me a lift home, as it was on their way home. Needless to say, I walked about five miles, in the snow, with the temperature in the single digits. The warm bed never felt so good.