Must be Nice...All That Snow....

Fire up the snowspeeders and saddle up your tauntaun, kids. Yep, we can now OFFICIALLY call it WINTER outside.

Welcome to HOTH,Indiana...LOL!

With anywhere from 2-5 inches of the icy white stuff coming down around the area, as well as temperatures dropping into the teens, we can be sure of ONE thing: Drivers will become especially stupid, and auto-body shops will be loving it (OK, TWO things then...LOL).

Now I have to admit that I still love a nice snowfall, and I've even been snowed in a few times, but the sheer QUIET REPOSE a snowfall can bring is nothing short of awe-inspiring. As I always tell my wife, "Driving in snow can be actually LESS stressful than rush-hour traffic on the interstate (provisionally-speaking)". By that I mean as long as you have the road totally TO YOURSELF...everything is fine. It's when other people get out there and flex their inclement weather driving "abilities" that problems seem to occur. That can lead to a car insurance claim faster than a Katrina victim can defraud FEMA and move to Houston.

I also have to admit that as one ages, shoveling becomes all the more tiring. That's why I like to get out often, and shovel SMALL amounts of snow, rather than wait for that LAST SNOWFLAKE to hit the ground before going outside (like it seems most INDOT salt crews do). It's a lot lighter to move, and with a thinner layer of snow, reflective melting occurs sooner, and then you don't have to shovel any longer. You can watch everyone ELSE shovel ALL that snow while sipping some hot chocolate (laced with a touch of Bailey's).

Then there is the little thing about HAVING to shovel your sidewalk before 0900 hrs (per NCE/city ordinance). Yeah, that works in MY neighborhood...NOT! Every time it snows, I bet myself that I will be the ONLY PERSON on my WHOLE BLOCK that will have the sidewalk cleared. And I haven't lost a "bet" yet. I only wish NCE would ENFORCE this ordinance and start citing people who find it better to stay in bed until the sun shines on their asses (gee, they do that EVERY day, no matter WHAT the weather). I just figure if people don't "want" to care, then someone has to MAKE them care, and the city could make some "cha-ching" with this in mind...if THEY cared to.

Wow, I smell some IRONY here.

One thing I can't wait for is the snowplows to come barreling down the streets, tossing up "rooster-tails" of snow and ice BACK ONTO the areas I spent all that time shoveling. Yeah, nothing makes MY day more than that. If only they would SLOW DOWN a smidge, we wouldn't even HAVE this problem, but time IS money (I suppose).

But after all is said and done, it does all come back to the QUIET. The peaceful reverie of watching the snow come down, the birds looking for food, a few kids building a snowman or pulling a sled...that kind of stuff. Damn shame the only REAL sounds over this serene scene will be another one of those loud ass boomcars.

Nothing says "Winter Wonderland" like hearing some thumping bass (c)rap tune, shaking the snow from tree branches and chasing those birds away, as this idiot passes by.

Yet for an all-to-brief stolen moment here and there...it still IS like the winters I have come to remember with fondness.