Jeff Caplan’s Minute of News: Hot enough for ya, cowboy?
Jun 14, 2024, 7:00 AM
Like their namesakes in the desert west, the ice cowboys of Canada are in the midst of the annual round-up. (Canva)
(Canva)
Editor’s note: This is an editorial piece. An editorial, like a news article, is based on fact but also shares opinions. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and are not associated with our newsroom.
SALT LAKE CITY — As we grapple with searing sunshine, this summer heat is also impacting a northern stretch of Canada. Along the Atlantic Ocean in Labrado, the temperature is going up to 55 today.
In the brittle cold Maritime provinces, this is when the perpetual clouds part for a month or two, and the ice cowboys go to work.
Like their namesakes in the desert west, the ice cowboys of Canada are in the midst of the annual round-up.
And wouldn’t you like to be among them right about now. These hardscrabble sailors jump aboard boats, their job is to lasso icebergs and nudge them away from shipping channels.
Instead of dust, these cowboys breathe mist. Instead of horses, they corral icebergs they’ll carefully treat like a living being.
For a giant iceberg can wiggle, shimmy, twist, turn and sink a boat if you’re not careful.
But the fringe benefit: ice cowboys can carefully and gingerly crack off a piece of iceberg that, once melted, is the best drinking water on earth.
Ancient ice cold water, trapped half a million years, and served in a cool 12-ounce glass.
Never wanting to get their boats too close, sometimes these cold-water cowboys shoot the iceberg with a rifle, hoping to shatter some shards that will yield water so delicious, some maritime families refuse to drink anything but glacier water.
Jeff Caplan is the host of Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News on KSL NewsRadio. Follow him on Facebook and X.
