Let it snow, let it snow, let it … NO !!!
on 01/26/2011 at 09:19 AM
All I can say is that I survived the Blizzard of ‘78. Not that the years before were much better, but at least we could drive ‘down’ our quarter-mile what? I can’t even call it a driveway. We had a one-lane track that was topped with coarse gravel. We could usually get down it in the winter. Getting up was tricky.
In the ‘78 blizzard, we had a 20’ snow drift. My dad and I surveyed it and then he actually handed me a shovel!
My reply? No way!
To be honest, I would have if there wasn’t an alternative.
The alternative showed up later in the day. Dad called a neighbor who actually had a snow-plow. I don’t mean a truck with a snow-plow attachment, this guy actually had a snow-plow. He lived a half-mile up the road. I’m sure it cost a pretty penny. A truck wouldn’t have made it through that snow drift.
Still, it was two weeks before we got an oil truck up to replenish our oil tank. We basically lived in Mom and Dad’s bedroom with the electric heater and a TV. I broke out my camping gear and slept in my mummy-bag. I think my sisters scarfed some electric blankets from Mom.
Oh, and during all of this, guess who did the chores? Me. I fed the chickens. I collected the eggs. I fed Michelle’s horse. I shoveled the manure. I even did most of the cooking. The kitchen wasn’t heated either until the oil truck got up to us. Just as well, I was a better cook than Mom. I’d learned to cook in self-defense.
What’s really funny is that I have fond memories of those relatively hard times. See, we actually worked together during an emergency.
Which is kind of exactly my point! Well said.
Here’s the difference. Back then it took a blizzard to use up a school district’s snow days. And in fact, I don’t remember having to make up the blizzard of ‘78. I graduated that year, so I would know.
Why? We hadn’t panicked over every little snowfall before. We had a joke… school would only be canceled if the Superintendent’s parking space wasn’t cleared. This was obviously a joke. But the fact is that we attended school under conditions that the current Education unions find uncomfortable.
Example: do you know that in 9th grade many of my classes were held in a building that I had to wear my coat to be comfortable? They either couldn’t afford to heat it or, since it was the oldest building, they couldn’t heat it.
Well, I know about working in that cold building. I was on the yearbook staff. Guess where we had to work? And I’m told we put out the best yearbook ever. Not only was I on the yearbook staff, I was one of the photographers, I did duty at the basketball matches, soccer matches, didn’t do football, another guy handled that.
The little darlings in our town put a quarter million dollar line item in this year’s budget. Not for HVAC for the school, but for an upgraded control system for the HVAC they already had. I guess some of the rooms were either too cold (74) in winter or too hot (76) in summer.
We wore sweaters in my day. And opened the windows in June when it got too warm. Kids probably aren’t allowed to do that these days, as either some twit will jump out and kill himself, or a pedo will reach in and grab some kid. Or maybe a bug will fly in and bight their precious little noses.
When I went to elementary school in Germany (Sembach Air Force Base). We lived off-base for the first year waiting for housing to open. The only time they closed school was after a 24 inch snowfall weekend. Even then we only missed one day.. They had the roads plowed by the afternoon.
When we moved on base, I lived 50 yards from my 3rd grade classroom, and 1/2 mile from my 4th grade classes. I got to walk.. Uphill! Both ways! er.. I mean we walked there even in the worst of storms.. which we didn’t have…Oh, and Christopher, I too learned to cook in self defense.. My mom isn’t the.. best cook in the world.. That, and I dislike bad food.
