The Snow

We are supposed to have some major snow here tonight. I have heard predictions for up to a foot, although the general concensus is around 7". I would like to go on record that I am not a big fan of snow. When I was a little kid, it was cool. We got out of school. Even the hint of snow would cause people to run to the grocery store. Bread and milk quickly sold out. I wondered if it was a conspiracy between the stores and the weather people. If a store wasn't doing too good, they would call the TV station and ask them to mention snow in their forecast. Even if it was June. But, when it did snow, which wasn't often, it was a major event. I guess those folks in the North have become sort of blase about snow, but us folks in the South know it is a big deal. The first snow I remember was in New Orleans. It didn't last long, but it was still cool. The first winter, that we were in Columbia in 1958, it snowed 6". I remember actually being able to walk on a frozen bush in our front yard on Burney Drive. It was like frozen steps, and the bush didn't collapse. I don't guess I weighed much. We had snows along as I grew up on Belmont, but a lot of them was more ice than snow. We lived on a hill, so it was quite a challenge for cars to get up the hill. Most of them didn't. When I was in high school, there was a kid who lived across the street who wanted to use the hill in our yard as a sledding ramp. The hill would come down from the Savitz's house next door and then there was a cliff that became our driveway. He thought it was fun to knock all of the ice and snow from the hill into our driveway. I went out and told him not to do it, and he just laughed at me and went back to doing it some more. This went on for some time, until I got so mad that I went inside and took a steak knife out and went outside and told him that if he did it again, I would cut him. He ran back home and told his mother that I had threatened him. His mother told my mother, but after I explained the circumstances, the boy got in trouble for pushing ice into our driveway. Another snow I remember was the snow of 1973 at Anderson College. We got 18" then. It was on the ground for 10 days. We had fun sledding on cafeteria trays and pushing cars down the street. And, there was the snows, when I moved to Texas. I didn't think it would snow there, but one winter we got 5 snows in 6 weeks back to back. They didn't melt. They just compacted. That is where I learned to drive in snow. It is an acquired talent. There are people who think they can drive in it. Those are the folks who usually wreck. I was living at seminary and working at Hulen Mall, some five miles away. I called the store to see if we were open, and they said yes. The snow was so deep, I couldn't get my car out, so I proceeded to walk. I was in drifts upto my waist. I got to the store and found out it closed a few minutes before I got there. I was pretty mad. This was before cell phones. So, I had to walk back. I guess that's why I am not fond of snow now. They say it will be on the ground for a couple of days. It will be pretty to see, but I just hope I have enough food until Tuesday. And, get out of my way, when I am on the road. I know how to drive in it. Do you?