I wonder if hibernating bears are ever subject to hot flashes that could move them out of their dens and into the cold ahead of time.

The reason I ask is that I recall reading a story about the outdoor ice skating rink in New York City’s Central Park that may demonstrate the power to accomplish such a monumental task.

As the skaters glided around the ice, a voice over the public address system caught everyone’s attention with an announcement asking if Miss Judith Kleinschmidt was on the ice, and if so, would she please raise her hand. A shy young lady responded by raising her hand as she glided to a stop. Most of the other skaters also came to a stop and glanced at the lone figure with her raised hand. A second voice then came from the public address system.

“Judy I love you! I have always loved you! Will you marry me?”

Judy covered her face as she slipped to her knees nodding, without making a sound. However, everyone around her called out in clear happy voices: “Yes!” they shouted. “She said, ‘YES!’” In a few moments, the newly engaged couple — with their arms around one another and the warmest of smiles on their faces — slowly skated away from the crowd, which soon did the same.

But the magic moment had happened and the frigid skaters were frigid no more. The outdoor public ice rink was filled with a warmth that seemed to glow, never to be forgotten.

I dared to peek out from under my blanketed cave. I found Mary, my Valentine, doing her own glowing and making it mine as she sat with her precious smile across her lips, re-reading her 57-plus valentines bearing my scrawled signature.

Can we open a window?

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