a jacket a day

It's a lot warmer in Marseille than in Minneapolis, but you wouldn't know it to look around. People bundle up here like it's the arctic.

Mostly to show off, I only wear my coat when I really need it and hardly ever turn on my heater. "Look at that awesome, inappropriately-dressed Minnesotan," I assume everyone must be thinking. "She has access to warm clothing and heaters but doesn't use them, and it makes me respect her." French friends won't have any of it though. "I'm not letting you outside without that jacket - you'll catch a cold."

I know we have this saying in the U.S. but does anyone believe it? I thought it was like wishing on dandelions. Cold doesn't make you cold, any more than hanging out at the tapir cage turns you into a tapir. I have proved that second fact with four years of study at the Minnesota Zoo.

I attribute my recent sneezing (and subsequent French "bless you's") to sleep deprivation or a possible allergy to cockroaches. But no one agrees with me. "Well, now you've done it," they all say as I twitch my nose "You've gone and caught yourself a cold like we said you would. Maybe if you have worn a sweater..."

I have yet to see a dandelion here, but I bet they're worth their weight in gold.