october, bah humbug

yes, it's october. yes, i'm wearing a tank top. yes, my 'car' has no windows. yes, i'm in denial.

i refuse to put my windows on the bantam menace until i experience condensation accumulation or other activity up to and including:

* more than 2 inches of snow piled up on the backseat
* wet hair literally freezing on the way to work
* multiple days' worth of snow accumulation on any seat
* frost on the windshield (inside) not removable by one or ten mitten-swipes
* hypothermia
* snow 'dandruff' acquired while still on the road
* nose icicles
* falling on ice INSIDE the cab
* i tire of trying to "heat the outdoors"

a week ago i did put the half-door windows on. a girl has to stay warm on the freeway. my little sis doesn't even have doors ON right now (i think...they were off the other day when we stormed the salvation army)...she is my hero.

here is the progression, for those of you non-Jeep/non-crazy people, of Jeep transformations when cold weather approaches:

1. The soft top goes back on. (The top only, no windows or doors)
2. The doors go back on. (If you've taken them off, which any Jeep owner in their right mind should have done back in February or March.) If you are the unfortunate owner of full metal doors, I mourn for you. Skip to step 4.
3. The door windows go back on. (This keeps the back of the Jeep open and free while maintaining a mostly-enclosed cab for optimal heat retention)
4. The rear/side windows go back on. (This is necessary once you can build a fort in the backseat for additional passengers)
5. The back window goes on, preferably while humming or playing Taps. (if you keep a kazoo in your glove box, this works well, also)

If you own a hard top, you have the option of putting that on right away. However, the soft top allows for you to remove various windows and doors as the weather fluxuates (we DO live in Michigan). Also, seeing a Jeep mid-winter with ANY piece removed for maximum airflow and joie de vivre can warm the coldest warm-blooded being (it sounds wrong, but it isn't if you understand the difference between being warm-blooded and cold-blooded).

That said, I am holding out as long as I can before I will even contemplate affixing the side/rear windows to the bantam menace.

keep waving.