“Spring has sprung
Fall has fell
Winter’s here
And its’ cold as
usual”
-Author best forgotten
Yes indeed, that cold Arctic air makes its appearance and
suddenly we are felled in our tracks, ‘the event’ snow watching begins, as we
plan our days and weeks ahead. We watch the weather and pray it doesn’t come,
then one morning, there it is, a natural blanket of nuisance that will be in
your way, on your car and in your driveway probably for a few days.
Then there are the annoying bumper stickers as you
slip-slide on the highway, your heart in your mouth as a skier goes by with a
bumper sticker saying: “Pray for snow!” Pray I don’t get out of my car and …
Growing up in Brooklyn, the snow seemed to not be a big
deal. There was never a school closing that I remember, there were no issues
with traffic or even mass transportation that I can recall.
Going to school was a novelty in the old days in that first
snow, pure and white it squeaked as our boots plowed through it and crunched
from the sooth and grim on our way home. Mom had a pair of boots for both my
sister and me, hers were red and mine black, matching: the day I would have
with the nuns and teachers.
The school had a rule, you will freeze outside in the cold
until the bell rang, summoning you to line up and be prepared to parade into
the building, 2 by 2 we marched each grade going by the youngest first. As you
entered the building, the immediate smell of steam greeted you, telling you it
was time for business. The reason they made you wait out in the cold was so you
would be glad to get into the building! You were ready to sweat by the time you
arrived at your desk, watching the face of Sister Hairy Mary or Miss Bludgeon,
where we stood until told to sit down. On the coldest days I would have sat in
the electric chair if it heated up!
As my family migrated to the burbs, snow took on a new dimension;
it was now a loose friend. School closed for the day and as the only boy in my
house, I was charged with snow removal. Dad would park his car in the front of
the house, rather than the driveway, and the snowplows would come down the
street and plow him in. My job, in order to sleep and eat in the house, was to
go out there and shovel! You had to dig out the tires, clear the windshield and
shovel a path to the snow-rutted street for the car, then tackle the walk way.
Dad was very good in his job too after the storm: he would
put his coffee down and peer out the window to see if I ran away yet. That was
kind of silly since the snow was too deep for me to run that fast. Sometimes he
braved the cold and would open the front door to inquire what was taking so
long.
 |
| Parking WAS at a premium! |
Getting married took on a whole new attitude for me, I now
hated the snow, wished I lived in southern California and checked to see if I
was too sick to go to work, but off I went, sometimes health can be a
pain-in-the-ass! The slippery roads, the LIRR parking lot mess and the idea of
carrying stuff like a portfolio or homework I did became a dangerous business,
since if I slipped and fell, broke my back or split my head opened, the client
might be disappointed I didn’t show up! God forbid we did that! Sometimes
things were so bad I would miss my scheduled appointment in my office and by
the time I got to the city, I was meeting the client or my boss for lunch!
But I will not bore you about snow, I know you will have
your own, and you should, after all, I got mine.
Address: 1231 Taft Hwy, Signal
Mountain, TN 37377
Phone:(423) 886-6943
Hours: Open today · 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
DO YOU WATCH THE BIG
BANG THEORY?
You should
No comments:
Post a Comment