I know everyone has been hearing this kind of talk for the last week now, but I simply can“t help it. When I was a kid, we didn“t get off of school because it was too cold.

What exactly is “too cold?”

I remember a few snow days as a child, not even one a year. The only way we were getting off of school was if there was so much snow no one could find the school, or the school buses.

When it was ridiculously cold outside, we would stand at the bus stop huddled together with our backs to the wind. We didn“t even care if we didn“t like each other, we were body to body. We always made the kid whose mom made him wear a snowsuit watch for the bus.

The one kid we hated lived right next to the bus stop. He would watch from the window, all warm and cozy in his living room, never asking us if we wanted to come in. He was warm, we froze. My mom didn“t work until I was a little older, but still would not drive us to school regardless of the weather. Apparently, “You WILL NOT freeze to death.”

I remember days when my cheeks would be red for the rest of the day from standing in the sub-zero wind waiting to go to school. We quickly learned not to complain or dawdle. If we complained, we would get pushed out the door early; if we left late, we had to run to the further bus stop. Neither option was optimal, so we behaved and walked to the bus stop.

Last week, many schools shut down for two days because it was too cold for kids to wait outside. I wonder if this is because kids are getting weaker or less intelligent. I see kids walking down the streets without jackets or with their coats unzipped. They never have hats or gloves. These are the same kids who are saying that it“s too cold to go to school.

Zip your coat and put on a hat, you“ll be warmer. Maybe the kids just aren“t spending enough time outside to get used to the idea that we live in Wisconsin. Are today“s kids weaker because of video games, cable, fast food and dangerous streets? Kids don“t play outside anymore. Between parents being frightened of violence and kids preferring video games to live action fun, kids are getting weak.

School closing is just an example of the outcome. Nowadays, kids get into a fight and grab guns instead of duking it out in a fist fight like we did. I don“t think a gun makes you an adult, I think it makes you a weak, frightened child. Without that gun, it is likely you couldn“t defend yourself against an eight-year-girl.

We used to play outside in the snow, no matter how cold it was. My mom had to make us come in every couple of hours for hot chocolate and dry clothes or we probably would have frozen to death. We didn“t have video games to entertain us. As a matter of fact, the first video game I remember seeing was my friend Cassandra“s Atari (Google it). We used to play a game called Frogger. We only had so much patience and would quit to go outside after only a few attempts to cross the street. I still remember the sounds of the game: blip, blip blip, crunch.

My point is, children these days are too weak to survive in the world. My parents and grandparents used to say it and now so am I. Kids today have no work ethic, ability to think for themselves or strength to battle their demons. It takes a strong person to survive and live well in today“s society, and I don“t know if kids today are learning the lessons they need to help them get through.

They certainly won“t learn anything if we keep cancelling school.

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