It Takes All Kinds

The current temperature where I live, in Maine, is 31 degrees. It is also quite windy, adding to the bitter sting of the air hitting your skin. So to drag two heavy trash bins down our longish, ice- and snow-covered driveway for tomorrow morning's pickup, and even though I would be outside for a brief time, I pulled out all the stops: down coat, fleece-lined gloves, woolen cap and heavy boots with good traction.

Once finished with the job, I stopped to enjoy the lovely winter scene when off in the distance I spied a runner coming towards me. This was surprising considering the icy condition of our neighborhood streets, a fact I had learned firsthand from driving home just an hour earlier.

As the runner got closer I could see that he was a male about 35 years old, dressed in athletic shorts and a tank top. Stunned at his lack of protective clothing, I almost missed the fact that he was running barefooted. This got me wondering if humans are really one species after all. I think not, which would certainly explain our political differences.