“Serving overseas as a small-town boy from America is intense, stressful and humorous! Enjoy a light-hearted story with me from our last 20 years overseas!” – Matt
Under and Over Dressed
I remember growing up with full length parka style winter coats with fake fuzzy fur around the edge of the hood to keep my face warm. Sears & Roebucks must have had a sale as my dad and older brother had one too. Those coats defined my memory of outdoor wear for my childhood as those coats kept me warm while building snow forts or waiting on the school bus in the morning – those coats just wouldn’t die.
Decades later my family was back in small-town Indiana for a furlough from being overseas. It was one of those blustering Hoosier winters that would appear to be over, but then come back again with polar cold. However, things had changed. My sons would want to wait in freezing temperatures at their bus stop in just a hoodie and without the hood even up over their heads. They claimed all the kids did this (which was true), but many kids actually even wore shorts in the middle of the winter.
How perplexing for me as my body had grown accustomed to our overseas living temperatures that rarely dip under 60F in the winter. From my travels, I had acquired an inexpensive sheepskin coat and hat and 12” high snow boats for our winters when back in Indiana. My sons thought I was dressed for a cold high-altitude WWII bombing mission, when I would suit up to go outside to shovel a couple inches of snow from the driveway.
However, if I am now overdressed for middle America winters, I am underdressed for my overseas winters. There is no central heating in the cement block buildings that take on a cave-like climate – colder inside than out. It seems comical to me to watch people wearing coats and scarves while inside for meetings or appointments. Moreover, seeing me wear short sleeve shirts or even shorts in their “cold” winter months, they assume I will quickly meet a certain death.
I remember visiting a skinny friend who was in his ninth decade of life. On a hot muggy Hoosier summer day, he was wearing a flannel shirt and looked quite comfortable as I was sweating away in a t-shirt. I know I have age-related body temperature changes coming my way. I guess seeming to be over dressed or under dressed is normal in any location or season of life.
Something similar ever happen to you? Contact me and let me hear your story!
mattsmishaps@gmail.com Matt’s Mishaps, PO BOX 114, Grabill, IN 46741
