Snow Day

If you live anywhere from, say northern Georgia to somewhere “up north,” it’s been an interesting last 36 hours.

Southerners tend to panic when it comes to driving in a light dusting of snow. I tend to roll my eyes when there is the usual run to the grocery store for the essentials of life. You’d think 1-3” = snowbound for months.

When it comes to ice, though, it’s not time to mess around. It’s prudent to do as many folks - myself included - did yesterday. At the first sign of ice-fall, get home and get inside and off the streets as soon as you could. I felt happy and blessed to be warm and dry with people I love, plenty of good food, a lap cat and, most importantly, continuous power.

I worked outside to de-ice a couple lanes on the driveway late this afternoon and I chipped a bunch of ice off the front porch. I even filled the bird feeder because I know even colder days are coming.  I could tell our feathered friends appreciated the chow.  

Even as we speak, there is ice everywhere. Even my back yard is slick. 

This was not a snow day in the traditional sense. I’m sure the kids didn’t mind, though. I saw some nice pictures of families sledding all around town - even my cute nieces.

Last year, of course, we had more of a traditional snow and, thinking back to my childhood, we seemed to get some serious snowstorms frequently. I remember being an 8th grader and a 9th grader and missing weeks of school. We missed so much time, in fact, that we wound up adding an hour to the school day to make the time add up by late spring.

When I was even younger, there was a major snowstorm that created some great conditions for sledding. My cousin, Mike, was an excellent sled driver. Check out the handsome young lad sitting in his lap having the time of his life.

Kudos to my folks for sharing this classic pic. And this one.

I remember a few other snow events from childhood. Once, I recall, we build snow forts and then had an epic snowball fight in the big field I told you about a couple years ago (the place where our ballplayin’ days were spent…before they were over).

It was in the selfsame field where we decided to stage our own version of ‘The Ice Bowl’ a few years later. We had seen a number of NFL games played in snow and we thought it would be a great idea to do that as well.

What we found out was that when the white stuff is on the ground and you roll around in it, as you do when playing a neighborhood football game, the following happens.

• The snow melts
  
• Your clothes become wet
  
• You get cold. Very very cold.
  

After that happens, with no NFL championship on the line, the smart guys in our group headed for the nearest homes where we could dry out, warm up and drink some very satisfying cups of cocoa. 

Yum. Hot chocolate. We had it.

I remember a few other adventures from schooldays. Back then, there wasn’t as much news coverage. There was no social media. Everyone just sort of winged it.

Once, our school bus driver got only so far. She said, in essence, “forget this!” She turned around and took us back home. It was later that morning that we learned school was officially called off for the day.

On another occasion, I went to the school bus stop and stop and waited for a bus that never came. Again, later, we got the official word. Word.

Another time, when I was driving to school, I got only so far and then, as the school bus driver once did, I came back home when I understood my attempt was going to end in a less-than-successful fashion. I got home just in time to find out school was cancelled and, unable to make any headway in my car, I walked to the local elementary school to pick up my sister.

And then we walked a mile in the snow…(you know the story…).

Anyway, I’m happy to report that each of those incidents ended in a precious snow day.

That was the end result of the Ice Storm of February 2015, too. Whereas there wasn’t really snow for sledding, snowballs and neighborhood football games, I’m sure none of the children were complaining.

JG

Originally posted 2/17/2015