tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post6834383580249133841..comments2024-03-28T09:06:06.709-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/28/24: Texas notes: SnowNeil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-23691534415159272192021-01-18T01:33:50.485-06:002021-01-18T01:33:50.485-06:00That was a helluva storm...almost two feet in a li...That was a helluva storm...almost two feet in a little over a day. My father was trapped downtown with his boss (my uncle). They holed up at the old LaSalle Hotel for three days. Probably had themselves a time. My mother was stranded on a Greyhound bus in Michigan, and had to be rescued by the National Guard. Not much heat. There were a couple of infants on that bus who were in rough shape. <br /><br />Me? Semester break and stuck at home with my kid sister. Actually walked over half-a-mile to the drug store for some reason. Smokes? Crazy. It was a tough slog through the falling and blowing snow. Somebody was shoveling out the entranceway. By the time I thawed out, and started back home, the entranceway was completely drifted shut again. <br /><br />Worst snowstorm in my lifetime. Hope I never see another one like it. The train ride back to school felt like the one in "Doctor Zhivago"--which I cleverly changed into "Doctor Chicago." Been a snarker all my life.Grizz 65https://www.blogger.com/profile/02892702223228764894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-26020071198719751482021-01-17T18:42:51.698-06:002021-01-17T18:42:51.698-06:00Snow? there's nothing to miss- I'm with Gr...Snow? there's nothing to miss- I'm with Grizz.privatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18413982311699012802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-65844503677490498732021-01-17T09:33:32.635-06:002021-01-17T09:33:32.635-06:00Grizz, nobody likes driving in or shoveling snow, ...Grizz, nobody likes driving in or shoveling snow, but finding a little joy in life's annoyances makes them more bearable. During the '67 blizzard I walked a mile and a half home from our high school with a friend. Traveling eastward into the lake effect winds that produced that immense snowfall, we became encrusted in ice before we reached our homes. I learned a lesson about people that day, as we stopped after a mile to warm up in the shelter of the Catholic grammar school we'd attended. Rather than being comforted, we were scolded by the nuns for dripping on their tiled floor and sent immediately back into the storm. That our parents had helped finance the structure mattered not. Thank you, Jesus! Oh, I learned another lesson the next day. Don't wait for the snow to stop falling before shoveling. JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08613528527379198505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-27299748004486686342021-01-16T18:37:01.060-06:002021-01-16T18:37:01.060-06:00John,
Is “dibs” still a thing?John,<br />Is “dibs” still a thing?SandyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14070366627628604352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-82023515711836408272021-01-16T16:42:16.687-06:002021-01-16T16:42:16.687-06:00Sorry, Caren, but we'll have to agree to disag...Sorry, Caren, but we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I hate snow. Always have, even as a kid. <br /><br />Never liked playing in it, because winter clothing, back in the day, soon got completely saturated and frozen. Hated snowball fights and getting clocked in the puss. Years later, in adulthood, I lived through the blizzards of '67 and '79, when getting around Chicago was a nightmare for weeks. I directed traffic until the cops showed up, and when the dog got outside, I had to chase him through chest-high drifts.<br /><br />So what did I do in my mid-forties? I moved to Cleveland, which gets twice as much snow as Chicago, and that amount is doubled again if you live in the higher elevations, east of the city (Fortunately, I don't). It's pretty to look at, when you're indoors, or to walk in when it's falling, if the snow isn't too deep and the weather isn't too cold and windy.One saving grace: it takes longer for our snow to get dirty than it does in Chicago. <br /><br />And now that I'm a geezer, I really hate driving in snow. I try to avoid that, because all the cowboys in their pickups and SUVs don't bother to slow down, no matter how bad the snow gets. Are they really getting more reckless, or am I just old? I think it's both.<br /><br />By far, the worst thing about snow is snow removal. I have a big snowblower, but I don't especially enjoy shlepping it around. Luckily, I've only had to use it once in the last three winters, including this one, despite several major storms, each of which deposited as much as a foot of snow. My neighbor's a big burly guy with an even bigger machine, and he likes to fire it up and help folks out. <br /><br />What I truly despise most about snow is the hell of shoveling it. I have a short driveway, but I live on a corner lot. So there's about 250 feet of sidewalk to clear. I grew up on a corner lot, too. In my teens, I spotted my father taking home movies of me while I shoveled ("Hey, look! My son is working!"). I stopped, turned the shovel upside down so that it looked like an ON STRIKE sign, and began "picketing" the house. I was wearing a bright-red woolen winter jacket and yellow earmuffs, and I looked like a British redcoat. What a doofus!<br /><br />I would be ecstatic if I became a snowbird, and never saw another slowflake for the rest of my life. But I will die here. Probably with a snow shovel in my hand.Grizz 65https://www.blogger.com/profile/02892702223228764894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-56332480087872945062021-01-16T12:59:20.687-06:002021-01-16T12:59:20.687-06:00Thank you!Thank you!Carenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15948322374348472360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-54444264248874640422021-01-16T12:58:36.151-06:002021-01-16T12:58:36.151-06:00Oh, so true. Oh, so true. Carenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15948322374348472360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-56007659283970665492021-01-16T11:50:12.591-06:002021-01-16T11:50:12.591-06:00Though I'm not as fond of snow as I used to be...Though I'm not as fond of snow as I used to be, I've long been charmed by this Thoreau quote: "For many years I was self-appointed inspector of snow-storms and rain-storms, and did my duty faithfully..." Taking advantage of your rare opportunity for some snow-wandering in Texas was certainly the right way to go, especially given the flora to be inspected in Texas that one doesn't find in Rogers Park. Fun photos, too, Caren. Jakashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-73316856287012213312021-01-16T10:53:40.428-06:002021-01-16T10:53:40.428-06:00I was right there with you. I didn't remember...I was right there with you. I didn't remember how much I missed it.Carenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15948322374348472360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-76173878435187854062021-01-16T09:29:51.676-06:002021-01-16T09:29:51.676-06:00If your really longing for a Chicago winter, block...If your really longing for a Chicago winter, block of a parking spot with beach chairs and an ironing board. See how long it takes for the police to arrive. “Crazy neighbor throwing junk on the street.” <br />You will ever be known as ‘that crazy lady.’John Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02712600193130373091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-57281763082309479432021-01-16T08:42:23.587-06:002021-01-16T08:42:23.587-06:00Walking through falling snow, preferably numerous ...Walking through falling snow, preferably numerous big flakes, slowly making their way earthward on a still night was an opportunity I could never resist. Though the beauty would soon be destroyed by the city, the almost eerie quiet was a welcome respite from revving engines, honking horns and distant sirens. JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08613528527379198505noreply@blogger.com