Kay and Stanley are our good friends from down the street. Kay reads to my daughter Mary twice a week. Are you going to ride in this weather, she asked yesterday.

Sure, I said. You just have to dress for it.

Around 7 last night, Guinever called. Stanley was wanting to come and pick me up from work. What? I said. Yes — Stanley was going to come down to where I work, at midnight, to pick me up so I wouldn’t have to ride my bike home.

No, I said, Stanley’s not going to do that, but please thank them profusely for their kindness.

This is when you know people love you, when they are willing to go out in the cold late at night, probably past bedtime, in the interest of saving you from the elements. God bless Kay and Stanley!

(We have it easy down here. My Iowa buddy Nunemaker is freezing his heinie off in Iowa, where the high was minus 4 yesterday.)