The Blizzard of '14

I was born and bred in Michigan with tours of duty in Indiana and Ohio before I migrated south.  I  hail from The Great White North and have a healthy respect for winter weather.  As a kid, I remember walking on crusty drifts of snow that were far, far taller than me and… enough already!  The point is that the snow-belt and I go way back.  We are far from strangers.

Knowing this, imagine my state of mind yesterday when I was awakened from a sound slumber at 4:04 am by an incoming text alerting us that there was a winter storm warning for our area.   All day I waited nervously for the big storm.  When I went out in the early afternoon, I drove by a friend who is a teacher so I knew that school was already out -- even though the road (which had been brined the night before) was still dry as a bone.

First I stopped to mail a bunch of packages that had been cluttering up my kitchen table.  The line snaked almost out the door.  It was like Christmas in there!  Who would have guessed that, faced with a winter storm, people would rush to the post office?

Next I went grocery shopping, not because a snowstorm was imminent but because I was out of food.  Everyone that wasn't at the post office was at the grocery store and most of them were buying the same four things:  bread, eggs, milk and beer or wine.  During storms, do my neighbors make French toast and use alcohol as syrup?

As I was checking out, the cart guy came inside and loudly announced, "Storm's finally here."  Walking to my car, I did see two flakes roughly the size of fruit flies float by but there weren't even flurries on the drive home.  

Around five-ish the dreaded storm finally arrived.  A couple of hours later all the area schools had already canceled the next day's classes.  This morning the media was calling this a "treacherous blizzard" and even Jerry's work announced a two-hour delay.  (Of course, this occurred an hour-and-a-half after Jerry himself had arrived at work.)

Here's what the road looked like today during his morning commute:

Gotcha!  That is a picture my sister sent from Michigan.  THIS is what Charlotte roads looked like at six am this morning:

The Weather Channel is now naming winter storms and ours is called Leon.  Leon, which sounds more like a cute, cuddly, stuffed toy than a storm, left us an inch or two of snow and possibly even some ice.  Whereas I would hardly call what we experienced a "blizzard," I am willing to stipulate that, even though the roads look ridiculously clear, they still might be "treacherous" depending upon who is driving beside you and if they are texting while doing it. 

Pay attention today, people!  Car accidents, even fender-benders, are not funny.

  

Meanwhile, I can hear the sound of children's laughter.  The kids are sledding!  Yes, it's mostly just wet grass.  Yes, they are using a laundry basket instead of a sled.  Yes, they are wearing tennies not boots.  And YES, they are having tons of wintery fun!

My Grandsons in the Snow

Maybe it's time for me to see if there's enough snow on my deck to build a snowman?