Why is weather a big deal?

External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him.

-- Charles Dickens

We got all excited last week about the possibility of really cold weather -- in January, no less.

But have you every wondered why, or what the excitement was all about? After all, most of us live and work in buildings that comfortably condition the air. Our cars come equipped with heat and AC. Still we worry, giving weather the status of its own TV channel.

It was different a century or so ago.

Those people did not live in such a comfortable environment. Those people had to go outside a lot. But you almost never see newspaper stories from those people worrying about the cold.

Floods, yes.

Tornadoes, no doubt.

But not cold ... or hot, for that matter.

Maybe they figured it was one of the things they couldn't do much about.

We, on the other hand, like to think we're in control, and it perplexes us when we are not.

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MAIL: David Daitch was celebrating a New Year in Puerto Rico. Stephanie Fell and husband Keith were in South Lake Tahoe, "a great place to vacation."

And Barbara Sanford, of Augusta, thank you for the beautiful calendar you sent from Hawaii.

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MORE THANK-YOUS: I had a great time at lunch Friday at Sweetwater Baptist Church. I appreciate your kindness and the meal. I'm sorry I missed Norma Pate , however. Maybe next time.

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IRRITATION OF THE WEEK: I'm always startled in store parking lots when someone locks a vehicle door using a remote key chain and it honks as I'm walking past.

I think it's someone inside the car honking at me, and I'll look around like a fool thinking I had absent-mindedly stepped in front of a moving vehicle.

It takes a second or two to realize that's not the case.

It's also irritating when someone honks in densely packed traffic and no one can figure out A.) who the beep is for, or B.) why.

I imagine it was different when we all rode horses.

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BLOG ALERT: My Our Town blog on Augusta history this week features the recollection of Robert E. Lee's celebrated visit in 1870.

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TODAY'S JOKE: Everett Fernandez sent this one. (He has some friends at Sweetwater Baptist, who suggest I start paying him.)

Standing at the edge of the lake, a man saw a woman flailing about in the deep water. Unable to swim, the man screamed for help. A trout fisherman ran up.

The man said: "My wife is drowning, and I can't swim. Please save her. I'll give you $100."

The fisherman dived into the water. In 10 powerful strokes, he reached the woman, put his arm around her and swam back to shore. Depositing her at the feet of the man, the fisherman said, "OK, where's my $100?"

The man said, "Look, when I saw her going down for the third time, I thought it was my wife. But this is my mother-in-law."

The fisherman reached into his pocket and said, "Just my luck. How much do I owe you?"