1/24/2006
Now, that's cold
I don't know why, but bad weather seems to follow me around. It was no different when O-R staff writer Heidi Price and I arrived by train at 5 a.m.m Sunday in Melitopol, Ukraine. It was snowing and the temperature was a brisk -25 C. Our host, Mikhail Kumok, publisher of the local newspaper, picked us up at the station and remarked that his city had not seen weather this cold in 15 years. I guess he has me to thank for that.
After a hot shower and a change of long underwear, we headed out on a sightseeing tour that included a stop at a political rally for a virulent anti-American candidate and a visit to Melitopol's answer to Stonehenge - a pile of limsestone boulders called the Stone Grave that folks claim has supernatural qualities. Even Ukrainian President Viktor Uschenko claims to have absorbed some sort of spiritual tonic from sitting on it.
It was so damn cold that all we could do is step out of the car, look at it for a minute and jump right back in. Even then, I thought I'd lost the tip of my nose.
They say warmer weather is on the way. That probably will happen the minute Heidi and I get back on the train and head for Kiev.
