Tuesday, March 1, 2005

Snowy Day!

                            

We got a little bit of snow last night - maybe four inches or so.   I took a few pictures.  I think I put my camera on the wrong setting - no, I know I did - so this was the best picture, and it isn't very good.  I still like it, though, because it is a tree, and, well, you all know how I feel about trees!!  The snow didn't affect anything around town, really.  We were expecting much more snow.  A day or two ago, they thought we could have gotten up to two feet of the white stuff!  It is really pretty.  It is the really wet kind that sticks to everything.

I got to thinking about childhood memories involving snow.  It was so different back then.  Snow used to close our town down.  I lived in northern Virginia and people used to get a bit excited about it.  It snowed often enough, but back then they didn't do as much cleaning up after snow and just waited until the snow stopped and until, well, basically it was warm enough to melt.  Too funny!  So, we had a good time as children building snow-forts and igloos and snowmen.  We stayed out all day in the stuff.  We would get really cold and wet, but we didn't care.  I lived in a neighborhood where there were a lot of children and we all played together.  We became very creative at times.  We would have big snow-ball fights.  That was tons of fun!  Our street was an incline and had a small curve so it was a lot of fun to sled and toboggan down.  It became very icy and slippery as many of us would take turns going down.  Even the adults would come out and have some fun sometimes!  I remember one time a neighbor lady took her tiny tot (he couldn't have been more than 2 or so) and took him to the top of the street and put him on a sled and just let go!!  Kind of like tossing a kid in a pool to see if he will swim or not!!  Of course he could not steer and ended up right under a parked car on the side of the street!  What WAS she thinking??  I was horrified!!  You could really pick up speed going down our street when it was really icy!  It is one of those memories that is seared into my brain!  They didn't plow or sand it sometimes for days or even at all.  Actually, the only time they did is when someone would call and request it.  The person who usually requested it was a lady who had a hair-cutting business at the top of the street.  She wanted her clients to be able to get to her home.  We were so angry with her!!  We were past angry!!  We were livid!!  How could she take away our fun!!  She would call and have our nice icy track plowed and replaced with dirty sand!!  Sometimes when we were feeling daring we would go to the top of the street with an arsenal of snowballs ready to pummel at the plow and sand truck.  We would make him turn around we thought!!  Did we ever make him turn around??  I don't remember?  We had so much fun back then!

Now I am in Pennsylvania and I hardly ever see kids playing in the snow.  It makes me sad.  Snow almost never closes anything down.  Cars still drive while the snow is falling and you constantly see plow trucks plowing and tossing sand out the back.  It is such an efficient system.  The last time I remember snow actually closing down this area was back in '95 or '96 when the snow was over my head.  I remember walking down the street in a tunnel!  I remember opening my front door and just seeing snow!!  It was a bit scary!!  The National Guard was out in the street going from door to door.  That was a crazy year.  I am sure a lot of you in the North East remember that.

Well, enough about snow.  I am getting chilly talking about it.  Now I leave you with a silly snow joke....  Good day all!!  Stay warm!! 

14 comments:

  1. I loved snow days as a kid!  So much fun. I live in Minnesota and we get a lot of snow, yet I hardly see kids out playing in it anymore either.  It's sad. Of coarse the last few years they haven't called a snow day.  Even when it's been really bad, and most of the district are walkers.  I always keep mine home then, if they can't see then they can't be seen!
    Wonderful entry brought back a lot os snow day memories. :)
    ~ Promise

    http://journals.aol.com/promiseluv372/NoPromisesNoDemands/
    http://journals.aol.com/promiseluv372/TheJournalJar/

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  2. Love the piccy, i love snow too, Lovely story, there's always one who likes to spoil it for the rest, xx Julie xx

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  3. Lol at the snowman pic :o)
    I grew up in a neighbourhood where all the kids played together too, and all the parents were good friends.  That doesn't seem to happen anymore does it.  We used to have so much fun playing outside, in the snow, making snowmen and having snowball fights.  You even reminded me of an old lady that used to live at the end of our street, we thought she was a witch!  She would watch us all playing from her window, am sure she was just enjoying watching us children, but as kids do, we loved making something more sinister out of it!!
    Sara   x
    Stay warm!

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  4. Even in the summer you just don't see kids playing outside like they used to.  Probably many reasons, it's not safe, not as many stay at home moms, video games and cable tv.  It's sad.  I was outside 3 times with my 7 year old today sledding in our backyard (the joys of living on an acre of land) and it was GREAT.  I wonder how many mom's are missing out on this kind of fun because they are at work.

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  5. Only takes a couple of inches of snow here to block the roads and bring everything to a standstill. Britain is still in the dark ages when it comes to keeping the roads clear.
    Sylvia xx

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  6. I lived in a friendly neighborhood where all the kids played when we lived in New Mexico. When we relocated to MA...that ended. It was a rude awakening. But I do remember the snow from my younger years in MA. Fun stuff!

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  7. Wow Val you really have some great memories.  Unfortunately most of mine of snow came as I was older, with children of my own.  Thanks for sharing yours with us, it was a wonderful picture you painted growing up in Virginia.  Great picture of the tree too.

    Marlene of Purely Poetry

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  8. I love the picture. I remember the snow then because school was closed for a week and the only place that was open for food was this italian shop that the people lived like right there, and my dad sent me there to get food since he was a bacholor and had like NOTHING in his fridge, and I was stuck there. lol.
    shannon

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  9. Lovely picture Val.  I had to laugh when you said a little bit of snow, around four inches.  That would be a major major snowfall to us!  I remember childhood snow as well and snowball fights, not allowed to have them over here anymore unless you stand 65 feet apart - yes true!  England has gone safety mad!  God bless you dear friend xxxx

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  10. I remember those type of childhood snowy days too, mine were in New Jersey.  Love the pic..................Stormie

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  11. I love the joke !  We in the UK never have `real` snow, at least not in the South of England where I live.  As a child I suppose we did have more than we seem to get now, but these day`s we are lucky to get any at all.  I can`t imagine walking down the street in a snow tunnel.  If only we did have just a little more than we do !

    Sandra xxx

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  12. Well, Val, I have the answer to all your problems.  Come move south and when it does snow - even a flake - it will shut everything down!!!  LOL!

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  13. Thanks for the childhood memories Val.  I had forgotten a few of them!  Love, Krissy
    http://journals.aol.com/fisherkristina/SometimesIThink

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  14. March 9th...we're missing you.  Rest well, and come back soon refreshed, relaxed, renewed.  Love,  Chuck

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