Snowpocalypse

Once again Florence, AL is in a panic after the utterance of that dreaded four-letter word – SNOW. Here’s the typical scenario: 1) Weatherman forecasts the possibility of snow next week. 2) The local grocery store owners rub their hands together greedily and let out a maniacal laugh. 3) Mr. & Mrs. Joe Blow race to the kitchen to check the cabinets and refrigerator. 4) The next day the newspaper runs a story about the potential snow. 5) Half of the people in town go to the grocery store to buy milk and bread. (Apparently the best thing to eat in a snowstorm is Bread/Milk Soup?) 6) All the kids in town stay up late the night before the forecast event to watch for snowflakes. 7) Nothing happens. No snow. No martial law. No panic.

Unless a few flakes actually happen to fall from the sky. Then you’d better watch out. It’s every man for himself, no-holds-barred Apocalypse time.

This year the fear and panic stepped up to a new level. Today is the second time this year that that schools closed before the first flake fell from the sky.

I’m starting to feel like they were right and I am wrong. We are now under a Winter Storm Warning. It’s now sleeting and snowing a little. My kids, of course, had school today. They are still there, so far.

Never mind, I just got a call from the school. They are letting out at 11:30. Oh well.

OK, this is getting ridiculous. I just tried to call my sister-in-law to see if she will pick up my daughter along with hers so I can go get the boy. When I called I got an “all circuits are busy” message. Let the panic begin.

You know, I’m sure this will be “the big one.” And I’m sure we’ll be stuck at home for days. Especially since tomorrow is grocery day, and we have very little to eat.

This reminds me of a few snow stories. Some from childhood. Some from recent years. I’ll tell one and I’ll add the rest to my list for later.

One of my favorite snowstorms happened while I was at Auburn. Winter Quarter of 1993 marked my second quarter of classes at Auburn. The quarter ended in mid-March. Some friends came into town for the last weekend of the quarter (right before finals and then Spring Break.) There were several of us Florentines at AU that year. Friday night I went spend the evening at Nick & Rosie’s (a couple of friends from Florence) with our other Florence friends.

We played computer games. Played board games. Watched movies. And…well I honestly can’t remember what all we did. Needless to say, we had a good time. As the night wore on, it began to snow. We went outside and ran around like little children. Fun stuff. Eventually the stuff started to stick.

The blanket of snow on the ground grew thicker and thicker. The roads began to turn white as well. Eventually, I realized I’d better get home. I didn’t want to get stuck at Nick & Rosie’s, and I needed to feed my cat. So I left.

I drove home on the snowy roads. My car slid slightly from side to side. I prayed that the 3 or 4 traffic lights between their place and home would stay green.

As I drove I thought about being stuck at my apartment. I didn’t really have any food. And I would be there alone. Except for my roommate. Whom I didn’t dislike, but I didn’t really like either.

By the time I reached my place I had decided to go back. I ran inside. Fed the cat. Grabbed some clothes. And grabbed my Cinnamon Apple Cheerios. (Priorities.)

Then I headed back out on the treacherous roads. I was virtually alone on the streets. They were much slicker this time; even though it was only a few minutes since the last time I’d driven them.

I made it back to Nick and Rosie’s safe and sound. I spent the night there and most of the next day. We had a great time. 5 or 6 college age guys acting like 6 year-olds in the snow.