Let it snow ... oh please, let it snow?
December 9, 2001 ~ 10:20 a.m.
Eden, in her December 6 entry (�Snow War I and Snow War II�), reminisced about the snowy days of winter where she once lived and grew up. This had me thinking fondly about snow and how it is probably the one truly nice thing about winter.
Some of you caught in the northern climates might feel inclined to ring my neck for calling snow �nice.� I know some of you are probably hollering at the computer screen: �What? Buddy, are you crazy? Snow is a pain the ass!� Many of you will never be able to look beyond snow tires, shoveling and long commutes home on snowy nights. I can understand this. However, I still maintain that snow is the only thing that makes winter all worth it. It�s certainly not arctic temperatures, the howling wind or short days. No, it�s that brilliant white stuff.
I don�t care how old you are, there is always a sense of excitement when you peek out the window to discover a heavy snowfall. I�m 32, and I have to force myself not to jump up and down with glee at the sight of fresh snowfall. It�s one of those emotions from childhood that stays with you even well into your adulthood. As a kid, you turned on the radio to listen for school cancellations. Today, you call the office, hoping to hear a recorded message announcing that work is closed on account of treacherous conditions on the road. A paid day off, and you don�t even have to claim a sick day! I ask you, what could be better than that? And with the money you save on gas for the day, you can pay one of your relatives to plow your driveway for you while you sit around in slippers drinking coffee.
Coming from Boston, I have seen more than enough snow during my life. I know the joy of grabbing a sled, heading for the nearest slope and spending all day there. I know the pleasure of lobbing a snowball and hitting a neighborhood arch-enemy straight on the noggin. I also know the pleasure of spending all day with my brother-in-law, helping him plow and making some damn good money in the process! Needless to say, during the last few winters, my eyes would light up in the shape of dollar signs at the sight of snow.
Now that�s all in the past. Today (as I�m sure everyone knows by now), I live in London. Just as Eden hardly sees snow anymore, neither do I; the lack of snowfall is perhaps the one and only thing London and Phoenix have in common. And when we do get snow, it�s a mere tease. Last winter, I woke up to a snowstorm one morning. I threw on my running clothes and went for sprint and I was in seventh heaven. I was squinting because snowflakes were landing right in my eyes and I slipped a few times here and there on the slushy pavements. Yet, I could not have been happier. When I got home that morning, it continued to snow for an hour before tapering off. I sat on the sofa in the darkened living room with a cup of coffee, looking out the window and still admiring the sight of snow. The next day, however, it got milder, rained, washed the two inches of accumulation away and we didn�t see any more snow for the rest of the winter.
Here in London, snow is the furthest thing from anyone�s mind right now. Roses are still blooming, insects are still active, species of bird that normally should already be settling along the Mediterranean coastline are still here, and the sun is still warm (even if the temperatures themselves aren�t). I�m not saying it�s been like summer here lately. It hasn�t. But by all accounts, nature is not co-operating very well in terms of potential snowfall anytime soon.
Although London and much of the rest of southern England doesn�t see much snowfall�indeed, hardly any�it didn�t always used to be this way. I have had several Londoners, my age or older, who�ve told me about the snowfalls of their childhoods. They remember when London used to have an almost permanent layer of snowfall between December and February and they have their own pleasant memories of sledding and snowball fights. One Londoner in particular even told me, �I dunno what it is, mate, be it global warming or climate change, I just feel sorry for kids these days. All they ever see is rain. They won�t grow up with the same nice memories of winter that I did.� True that. Sad as well.
I�m gonna miss the snow this winter. The folks back home will be having paid snow days off. In London, it will be business as usual.
Don�t tell me there�s nothing good about snow. I know that more than ever now.
� M.E.M.
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Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
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