Surrendering to the snow

One of my best friends delivered the Omaha World Herald, I delivered the Des Moines Register. We chatted briefly before heading out to deliver the news. It generally took me a half hour to deliver the papers. I would go back to bed for an hour before getting up for school.

On days when the snow was heavy, my mother would put the radio on to see if school was delayed or cancelled. Technology advances have rendered many conventional media obsolete for the school cancellation notices, but I remember impatiently waiting for the nasally announcer to finish reading the death notices so he could get to the “real news” — was there going to be a snow day?

Snow days usually involved spending a lot of time out in the snow. Building forts, tunnels or sledding. If the weather was really bad, the city would close a couple blocks on a hilly street so we could sled down it, then walk back up the hill and do it all again. 

I usually slept like the dead after snow days. My parents would joke that it was the result of “all that fresh air.” It was more than likely due to all the exercise.

Last week’s storm forced those who were able to do so to work remotely, a skill set many mastered during the lockdowns from COVID-19 pandemic. Some are able to get a great deal done this way, others not so much. There’s been a natural resistance by some to return to conventional office work after being able to work remotely. Others were more than ready to go back after spending so much time with family.

At my house, we provisioned up and spent Thursday at home. The snowfall was wonderful to watch. It had a dreamlike appearance that appeared to be from central casting for a classic MGM movie from the 1930s.

Our year old corgi shiba inu mix puppies Winston and Lucy enjoyed the snowfall a great deal. Their legs are longer than traditional corgis so they were able to propel themselves through the snow by jumping along their trails. They looked a bit like porpoises breaking through the water.

Winston was so full of glee that it was difficult to get him to come back in before bedtime. I scooped some snow off the patio and threw the snow on Winston which he really enjoyed. I have read that dogs are a lot like two to three year old human children. That makes sense to me and I can clearly see the joy the dogs have when they are able to play in the snow.

Even though it was a mess and caused many things to grind to a halt, I enjoyed surrendering to the storm and getting to have a “snow day.” I hope you did as well.

As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@theameryfreepress.com, telephone 715-268-8101 or write me at P.O. Box 424, Amery, WI, 54001.

Thanks for reading. I’ll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.