Did I say that out loud?
I’ve heard them called crazy fools and idiots. They’re also called brave and gutsy. I think they’re rather hardy souls myself. They are the polar bear dippers, the people who run into the freezing cold Atlantic waters as a way of welcoming the New Year on January 1. And I admire them.
For the past decade or so, I’ve been photographing Canso’s upbeat polar bear dippers for the paper. It never fails to give us great shots at a time of year when great shots are hard to come by. There are expressions of second thoughts and a sense of shock; there’s lots of splashing and shivering and running in and out. Click, click, click.
This year, I mused that I’d like to join them some time. Unfortunately, it was one of those instances of thinking aloud. People heard me. They made mental notes and promised to hold me accountable to a vague commitment to join in the fun – if we can call it that – next year.
Age got me into this mess. You see, I’m turning 40 next winter, so I had this fleeting thought that the Polar Bear Dip would be a good way to mark the milestone. But this particular fleeting thought escaped through my mouth.
It’s a tall order for this fearful woman. You see, I’m not brave enough to swim in the water at Canso in July, so January is really pushing it.
Since making this careless remark, I’ve tried to figure out how I can actually honour such a “commitment”. I thought maybe I’d have a cup of courage or two, as I’ve heard is sometimes done, before venturing out for the annual dip. But on second thought, that might make me unsteady enough to fall in head first, which would be highly unfortunate.
This was, indeed, a year for brave words. Given the relatively balmy temperature of zero degrees and the mild winter we’ve had so far, I probably wasn’t the only spectator considering joining the ranks of the dippers at some future time. The water was calm, there was no wind, and some participants actually seemed to enjoy their refreshing New Year’s swim.
But what if we have a snowstorm next January first? What if it’s 20 below? These possibilities are weighing heavy on my mind. In order to be brave enough to do this and not fret over it all year, I need a plan. And I think I’ve found one: global warming.
I know, I know, global warming is bad. But maybe, in this particular case, global warming can be my friend. We had crazy warm temperatures around here up until Christmas, right? Some people think global warming is to blame – we’re getting temperatures in the teens in mid-December while British Columbia is getting storm over storm. Maybe next year these warm temperatures will come back and extend into the new year. Maybe the polar bears will be greeted by above-zero temperatures on January first. And maybe, just maybe, this cold-phobic scribe will be among them.
