Winter Weather Washes Away East Coast

As the song goes, "the weather outside is frightful..." Well, I don't have a fire to delight me, but I think that most of my readers have spent the day indoors hiding from the cold, as I have. Though, perhaps they've been outside playing in the snow. Yesterday, I finished off my half gallon of milk having some hot chocolate and cookies. Now, I'm out of milk and so I'm drinking tea and munching on a nice turkey and fake cheese sandwich. I just don't want to go out to the store, though I really want to make chicken soup and I lack carrots and celery.

So, I was reading about the weather on VIN. It seems, according to the VIN article, that we only had about 24 inches of snow. I can't believe, I'm such a baby and I'm staying inside, for TWO MEASLY FEET OF SNOW. You have to understand, I'm from Buffalo. During the "Storm Of The Century that took place in November of 2000, they had predicted 2 to 4 inches of snow-nothing by Buffalo standards. People made the joke that when they said 2 to 4 inches, they made a mistake and that instead it was 2 to 4 feet. It was actually about 2 to 4 inches an hour combined with high winds, lightning, rush hour traffic and idiots who should know how to drive in it (all Buffalonians should), but they didn't. Since some of these idiots were bus drivers, many buses went sideways blocking the roads.

I had been working at the time at a customer service call center. A small number of us stayed in a hotel that night and actually went back to work the next day. They turned off the phones and put on a recording that we were closed because of the weather. We didn't have enough staff to handle incoming calls but we returned calls, instead. One woman I had been dealing with the previous day, I called her back and she said she had just called and gotten the recording that we were closed. I had to explain it to her. She was thrilled she happened to be on the desk of someone that was working that day. The buses weren't runing and I couldn't get home (I didn't have a car then for some reason) so, I ended up staying with a co-worker and her family. I used a barbie sweater maker with one her daughters.

Hmmm.... it's funny how a casual acquaintance was so welcoming.... Often Jews act like they are the only ones, but this non-Jewish co-worker extended hospitality that I haven't really seen from most Jews.

Play in the snow?

On Wednesday I was told to, "get out and enjoy the snow." Oh, have I turned into an old fart! Yet, I am young. I tried to find a picture indicating how much I played in the snow as a kid, which I have since taken down. I don't know what my dad was doing on *MY* snowmobile, but that's right, I had my own snowmobile. Although, that didn't last long. I kinda crashed it into a tree before I even graduated from the course at the local Snow-goers for kids under a certain age but over another age to be licensed to drive a snowmobile on public property without an ad-ult on the back of the same machine. So, I got this Bravo when I was 10 or 11 for December 25th. Hmmmmmmmm... as I look at this picture, I'm starting to wonder if that was a chance to have another snowmobile in the garage. I think we had two other snowmobiles.

Meanwhile, I have many other snow memories from childhood. After all, in Buffalo, we have snow from October or November until at least March, usually April and once even May. At my father's house, I would take the dog outside and hollow out under the picnic table. I was Julie, from the book, Julie and the wolves. The dog was, of course, one of the wolves.

At my mother's house, sometimes, I would shovel the driveway with the landlord and his kids. I was good friends with the youngest. I think, though, her father and stepbrother probably did most of the work and we were probably in the way. We didn't mean to be, but we were young. When my mother would splurge and pay to have the driveway plowed (maybe 3 or 4 times in my life), she would have the guy leave the plow dung in a pile in the backyard, so us kids could go sledding on it. It was my job to take out the garbage, so in the winter, I put it on a sled and tugged it to the end of the driveway. I used to love going tobogganing. My class used to go to a park once a year for a field trip and I looked forward to the toboggan slide. I had a kiddie toboggan at home but, it wasn't the right size for the toboggan slide at Chestnust Ridge Park.

We weren't much into snowmen, we were more likely to build forts and snow statues. I entered a contest at my school one year. I didn't win but, it was fun to go to the winter carnival. My mother never played in the snow with us kids but, I hope if and when I ever have kids, I'm not such a fuddy duddy and I get out there in the cold with them. I think the snow creations will still be my favorite. That's the problem with New York City. Where do you make a snow turtle or a snow race car? I don't know too many people who have a lawn big enough for them. If you made it at the local park, you wouldn't get to see it after you made it or work on it in spurts. I guess you could take pictures for memories. I wish I had pictures of those snow creations I used to make. I don't know if NYC gets enough snow to really make cool stuff, though.

A Real Snow Storm

Well, one of my Facebook friends says he can't wait for a real snow storm. So, I said that to me, having grown up in Buffalo, I know snow like Bo don't know.... The last blizzard I was around for was the "storm of the century" or the blizzard of 2000. So, here are some pictures:

http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/buffalo/4.html

That picture is the view I had from my job at the time which I was stranded at overnight. Ok, to be fair, they reimbursed for us to stay in a hotel and actually, those of us from that place got the last rooms.

There was also a nice snow the winter of 1998-1999. I remember it was the winter before I went into the Army. I went into the Army April of 1999. During this storm, I looked out the window at my car which was in the driveway and all I could see was about 6 inches of window. The rest was a great big lump of white. They put driving bans into effect. The businesses were forced to shut down for a couple days. I don't know how much food I had, but, I must have had something. I usually had a good stock of soup. I used to love to eat Campell's Chunky Sirloin Burger soup with cheese in it-soooooooooooo, not kosher.

I also remember a blizzard in the 80's. I wanted to say that it was in 1984 but, it couldn't have been. I remember which teacher I had. I had her for 5th and 6th grade. I think it was '85 or '86. We were off school for a week. We played in the snow: me, my sister and our friends from the neighborhood. We went sledding on the giant mound of snow in the backyard. Ah, those were the days!

Welcome summer!

Welcome, welcome, oh Summer!
When you leave it's such a bummer

The sun is bright up in the sky
Your yearly visit makes us want to fly

The children have a lot of fun
They frolic under the hot sun

To escape the heat they get cool
They go into a kiddie pool

Or to beat the heat,
they have an ice cream treat

Here's my plan
I will turn on the fan

because as for me,
I don't like the A/C

These rhymes were really simple
tough rhymes give me a pimple

So, just enjoy the summer while it's here
Unfortunately, the end will quickly near.

Snow.... (poem)

There is snow,
Everywhere I go,

I am bold,
To go out into the cold

It's too cold too roam,
better to head straight home

So, I can drink something hot,
as cold beverages, I'd rather not.

Tonight I will go schluffy
In PJ's extra warm and fluffy.

Perhaps, I will write again tomorrow,
The end of the poem is a sorrow.