LET IT SNOW

Many of you have already had a fair amount of snow in your area, but in ours the first of the sticking snow is due tonight and/or tomorrow. The Home is located at sea level. While we get the occasional snow, we rarely get very much. This morning around 11:00 a.m. we had two minutes of snow. Huge flakes, some an inch or more in diameter. Beautiful. I would have like to seen enough to have it stick for a while, but it melted as fast as it landed.

I grew up in snow - Omaha, Nebraska. As a kid and teen, it was terrific. You could start sledding at the top of Webster street, turn left into our yard, fly over the small hill at our alley, go left around the garage on the empty lot behind us, pull right between a house and the backyards of two others and end up at the corner of 28^th and Webster. Too bad. Creighton University School of Dentistry sit on what used to be our yard, but you can still see the hill in the side yard of the school. These were not exceptionally steep hills, but it was a long ride – about 2 ½ blocks. We raced. We built jump ramps; we iced up the slow parts. I could hardly wait for snow to get deep enough to sled.

Everyone had the equivalent of a red rider sled. There was one toboggan. Sleds were preferable. We often tried to see how many people could be stacked on a sled laying one on trop of the other. We did try to get four piled on, but the first turn reduced that pile to three and by the end there were only two or sometimes only one. It was nothing to try a running start with people stationed along the way to try and jump on. I’m surprised no one every got crushed. When one jumped on top the bottom person or two let out a huge grunt, but the extra weight didn’t last long as that person often missed or went on over the top.

We spent hours on those hills. It never seemed too cold – strange. The weather was freezing, as I got older. Thin blood I guess.

I don’t really remember all the places we went sledding as a teen. I do remember Memorial Hill. It was lit and absolutely beautiful when the snow was coming down, the hill wasn’t long, but it was steeper. You could go from the top near the memorial down toward Dodge Street. In those days it was more about hanging out with my friends than the actual sledding – but that was fun. We probably went to someone’s house after for hot chocolate. We were big on ending our nights at someone’s house.

My joy in the snow did not continue into my years in Saskatchewan. Weird snow. Dry, flaky, powdery. It would not stick together. Never saw a snowman or a snow fort. There were no snowball fights. Oh, college kids tried, but if it balled and flew through the air, it had ice in it. Those hurt.

It was easier to drive in the Saskatchewan snow than the Nebraska snow. It was wet and slippery down south. The Dodge street hill always had spinouts and cars sliding backwards. Saskatchewan on the other hand was flat. It was hard to slid off the road once you got in the ruts. There you were concerned about black ice and or sliding into a ditch. I did that a few times but always got myself out. I learned to rock that sucker back and forth until it moved. Fortunately I was never deeply stuck.

The snow and wind were problematic as a homeowner. I will never forget the night I shoveled the front walk to the street four or five times in one night. The wind was blowing so hard it kept filling the sidewalk in almost as fast as I got it out. I knew that if I left it to morning the whole sidewalk would be a block of ice. I guess I could have walked over the top like my neighbor did, but we had a lot more company and neither my wife nor I through leaving it would be a good idea.

Snow is pretty to look at, fun to play in and dangerous to drive it. I look forward to our two days of snow and hope it is as pretty as I expect it to be. But I will also be glad when it melts. My wonderful memories of snow are all in the past. Right now, a brief look is all I’m interested in. It should not make that much difference to me since as a retired person; I don’t have to go anywhere. If I run out of food there is plenty around The Home. I just need to knock on the right door.