Snow Thoughts

I was up at 5 a.m. this morning and eager to discover how large a bite had been taken by the “teeth of the storm” that we were anticipating yesterday afternoon. Not having had any appreciable snowfall since Halloween, there was a small degree of excited anticipation as I read the predictions of two waves of ice, and snow and wind. While they are still predicting the second wave, the first wave is past and it didn’t really amount to much more than the 2 inch tsunami that resulted from the recent earthquake in Puerto Rico.

There was a nice blanket of white shrouding the earth and the streets around town. I picked up a few LYFT rides, transporting people across town while they did nothing but complain about the snow.

I enjoy driving in the snow, before the city awakens. There is a therapeutic effect of the muffled road noises and a landscape bathed in the soft glow of light reflecting off of countless myriads of snow flakes.

On a disturbing note, however, was the observance of dozens of vehicles parked on the side of the road with windshield wipers drawn outward away from the windshields. They looked like scrawny arms, with dis-located shoulders and disjointed elbows, extended in surrender from white robes. It occurred to me that they may have been saying, “Hands up … don’t snow!”

Later in the morning, things had changed. People on foot and in vehicles were busy stripping the earth of its white robes, intent on restoring the dirty browns, tans, blacks and greys. Snow throwers, snow blowers, shovels and plows were seen in abundance, operated by all manner of people; large and small, fat and skinny, old and young, men, women and children.

It all makes me wish that we would get a 32″ snowfall in one fell swoop… certainly that would make the wonder of snow last a little longer!