the polar vortex

I will never complain about being cold again. I come from Christchurch. That's in the South Island of New Zealand. It's the gateway to Antarctica. We get a lot of frosts in Winter. I thought it was pretty cold some mornings in Christchurch. How wrong could I be?

I think a fairly good indicator that it's cold is if the Niagara Falls freeze. Which they did. And the Chicago Zoo put their polar bears indoors, as did the National Aviary with their penguins in Pittsburgh. That's pretty cold.

Polar Vortex is an evocative term. It sounds a bit like something from Star Wars. You can say it aloud with Darth Vader's voice if you like. Go on. 

Anyway, Polar Vortex is the name for the jet stream of Arctic air responsible for plunging much of the United States—by one estimate, 187 million were affected—into a kind of temporary deep freeze over the time that I was there.

Apparently, temperatures have been the coldest in almost 20 years. And everyone was talking about it in that collective way people do when brought together over polar vortices, heat waves and AFL scandal. In elevators, restaurants, stores, the word on the street was: this is COLD. 

The snow was pretty. Particularly in Central Park. And the good thing about walking around in a polar vortex and feeling as though your feet and hands and face might actually drop off, is that it is absolutely legitimate, in fact vital, to make frequent stops to thaw out in diners, cafes, bars. And wine is very warming. And medicinal. It is. Really.