This Just In — Following a week of extraordinary advance notice, the big one is set to arrive on Saturday.
I’m from New England. We take winter storms seriously. Spend a week in a freezing house without running water, trees breaking off and crashing in the yard all around you (very dangerous) and only masonry fireplaces to warm yourself and you’ll appreciate a warm can of beans, too.
Hubby and I were married for about two weeks at the time of the February Blizzard of 1978. Consider what weather forecasting was in the late 70’s (think dart boards and roulette wheels). We had several days of advance notice that a crippling snow event was coming and would arrive mid-morning on a Monday.
Naturally, we got up and drove into work, like knuckleheads. At exactly 10:00 a.m. it began snowing at about 2”/hour. I worked on the 17th floor at The Hartford Insurance company. I looked out the window and couldn’t see my car. I couldn’t see ANYTHING. I had to wonder, what in the world was I thinking in coming to work today? Not much “work” was achieved that day as we all waited for word that we could leave. When I got to the car at 3:00 p.m. it was under a foot of blowing, drifting snow. It took me three hours to reach Rick at his office … less than two miles away. Imagine taking that long to get from the planetarium to Eastgate. I drove on sidewalks, through a park and ignored where roads used to be.
I was grateful for the fresh car battery and full tank of gas in our beloved 1973 Honda Civic, but the front wheel drive (unusual in those days) meant we would get home instead of abandoning the car on the street and finding shelter on foot as most people did in Hartford that day.
Since living in North Carolina, we’ve had some impressive snow events, though no blizzards (whiteout wind conditions AND heavy snow). I needn’t list them here, but will say that just as we all should do with hurricane possibilities, preparation is vital and we should be grateful if the worst case scenario doesn’t materialize.
For the sake of my grandkids and for keeping the power on, I’m hoping for a mostly snow event this weekend. Nobody wants freezing rain.
We’re on a well, so a few days without power will mean flushing difficulty. We’ll put one of our trash cans in the hall bathroom and fill it with water. Likewise many pots and food storage containers will be filled with drinking water. Unlike hurricanes, if we needed to keep food cool, it can go outside, protected from critters. Of course, the dog and cat will be staying inside.
Plenty of batteries and firewood. Check. Non-perishable food stuff. Check. Prescriptions filled. Check. Laundry tomorrow and obsessively checking forecast revisions. Check check check, keeping checking.
Enjoy the snow and the special quiet that is delivered with it. Read some Robert Frost and imagine the clippity clop of the Clydesdales coming down your street in place of the Amazon truck. Definitely go sledding and throw some snowballs at the neighborhood kids. Drink hot chocolate.
Above all else, use caution where you find ice – in a tree above you or beneath your feet. Stay safe everyone and have some fun!
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
