By 6 pm last night it was down to about 18 degrees with light snow falling. The snowfall had caught the city a bit by surprise and the road crews were a bit behind the curve. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for our area to run through noon today. I had been at the church since early afternoon, but folks who came in for our choir rehearsals reported that there were some slippery spots on the roads and that visibility was reduced. In some rural areas, there weren’t many tracks on the roads and seeing where the edges of the roadways were was difficult in the low light.

In short it was a typical winter day in South Dakota.

A few years ago, my afternoon would have been filled with phone calls about cancelling events at the church, but these days, we pretty much go ahead with our scheduled events as long as the city hasn’t issued a “no travel” advisory. We have dependable all wheel drive vehicles and it isn’t a problem for us to get around. We trust our members to make individual decisions regarding travel. It has been our experience that the older members are used to the weather and tend to get out without much trouble. One member of the choir who is more than 80 years old and who uses a walker to get around came a few minutes early, having allowed extra time for travel.

Like I said, it was a typical winter day in South Dakota.

Our youth group was scheduled for a “Destination Unknown” event. Destination Unknown is a surprise to the youth, but not a secret from their parents. We choose a destination away from the church that helps to illustrate a Biblical principle. Then we plan a visit to the site, a meal and opportunities for discussion. The youth arrive and make guesses as we travel. Sometimes we have specific questions for discussion in the car as we drive. Last night’s Destination Unknown was a visit to a local Indian restaurant with an opportunity to sample the various menu choices and a conversation with the founder and owner, who was born and raised in India, attended college in our town, spent much of his professional career in California, then returned to Rapid City where he now operates two restaurants. The conversation ranged from questions about the country of India, arranged marriage (“It worked well for me. My wife and I celebrated 24 years together last year.”), what it is like to be a Christian in a country where Christians are the minority, the factors surrounding immigration to the United States, and a lot of other topics. All together, the event was a success. The youth were engaged and seemed to enjoy the experience.

However, there was one thing that I noticed. Only one of the youth who participated had a winter coat. None of them had hats, gloves or mittens. Most of them had casual footwear. I didn’t spot any insulated boots. Every one of them would have been chilly if we had needed to spend 15 minutes outside. Some of them would be in serious trouble had we spent an hour out of doors. They assumed that we would have warm cars and our activities would take place in warm buildings. The ones who drove did not expect to need to put on tire chains or change a tire or probably even pump gas into their vehicles. The others assumed that they would be warm and safe while traveling and throughout the evening.

They made assumptions that would not have been made in my youth. We weren’t allowed to take a car out in the winter without a winter survival kit. And we certainly were expected to have dressed warmly and be able to handle minor emergencies on our own. Even decades later, when I traveled with youth in other states, I didn’t have to remind them to have coats, hats, and mittens or gloves for winter events.

In defense of the youth the thing that has changed that insures their safety is that communications are different. Every youth in the group last night had a cell phone and the ability to get in touch with a parent or other adult at every moment throughout the event. Even if there had been a youth without a cell phone, there were enough others who had the devices that they felt secure that they would never be far from a phone.

Still, on a day when a little outdoor activity would enhance health and certainly wasn’t out of the question, none of the youth were prepared to spend any time out of doors at all. Perhaps that fact struck me because I took a little time in the afternoon and loaded our church’s large tandem axle trailer with a couple of cords of firewood in preparation for a delivery on Friday. The snow and cold temperatures didn’t keep me indoors all day. I enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time outside and I appreciated the opportunity to get some exercise in the midst of a day filled with sitting at the computer.

The youth in the group would think of going to a gym for exercise, but going outside might not have occurred to them. Had we had a different mix of youth, there would have been snowboarders and rock climbers and others who love being out of doors. Those youth usually show up with warm hats and jackets and footwear. The particular combination of youth who were able to participate last night turned out to be made of kids who don’t spend that much time out of doors.

I’m old fashioned enough to think that basic safety includes dressing warm enough to spend a little time out of doors. I can imagine plenty of scenarios that might result in needing to be outside and having to wait for assistance or being able to solve a problem without going out of doors. But then I spent the night in my pickup truck in December when it broke down in a very remote location.

So if you’re heading out for your daily activities, bundle up. It’s chilly out there. After all, it is a typical South Dakota winter day.

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