New Mexico Blizzard 2013

11/24/2013

                   As of Saturday we're having a major blizzard from Saturday to Monday , they
                   expect two to three feet !! I went out and did some photography, I will not
                   drive , in walking in the snow you could feel it's getting frozen, so I can just
                   imagine the roads..

                                                            Cheers...Joe... 

Be careful.

11/24/2013

                       DK..

                             " Thank You !" I learn a lesson several years ago, during a storm 
                     I lost control of the car and almost slammed into a retaining wall ! I don't
                     drive in snow , too dam dangerous, hungered down watching all the great
                     stuff on HGTV and Food Channel, eating left over Pasta & Sauage for 
                     lunch, dinner corn beef and mash potatoes, Miss Dusty hungered down with
                     her toy mouse sleeping on my bed, pets know better..

                                                   Cheers..Joe..

Snow makes beautiful pictures.  Love that tree.
Unless one must drive, it's best to not.

When I was a kid growing up in New England, the clothing we had was wool. I remember three pairs of pants, three shirts, scarf, and gloves. Our clothing would get wet from the snow, then freeze to ice. My Grandfather always had to un-freeze the car tires from the ground. Winter is great for kids…adults all head for warmer areas of the country. I still love the snow…I wish we had it here where I live.

I am terrified of driving in snow and ice.  I do it to and from Michigan every winter.  Otherwise, I stay away from it.

I left Michigan at 17 before I learned to drive.  I learned to drive on L.A. freeways and with chains in the local mountains.

I returned to Michigan with a driver's license at 19.  On my way to work the first winter, I spun around on ice and faced oncoming freeway traffic.  In terror, I backed off the road into a ditch where I waited for tow truck rescue.

My boss took me to the parking lot and taught me to drive in the snow and ice.  I was better at it, but hated it so much I left Michigan again at the first opportunity.

Then I ended up one winter in the countryside of Germany for the first blizzard - with friends and two babies in the car all dressed for summer (that we had left in California).  It was a terrifying experience.

I don't even want to ski or play in the snow anymore.  If I must be in it, I want to be in a cabin safe and warm where the only transport is a horse and sleigh.

11/24/2013

                  DK...

                          Too bad we're so dam modern, it would be fun to have a sleigh
                   and horses, just think life was so uncomplicated 100-200 years ago.
                                         
                                                          Cheers..Joe...

We wouldn't have met, 100 years ago, Joe.

At some point during the late 80's, I dont remember the year, we had a severe ice storm in Houston - no snow, just a thick layer of frozen sleet covering all the roadways.  Most of the school districts cancelled classes, mostly because southern cities are not prepared to deal with frozen streets.  No one has snow tires, and if we did, we had no experience of driving on thick ice. And the city does not have enough de-icing equipment to keep up with the situation.

The school district where I taught was the only district in the whole State of Texas (Yes, true) that did not close that day.  We even made Mobey's radio show (Mobey was a popular Huston DJ at the time.)  He even used our superintendent's name:  "S***, Aldine! M. O. says you guys are tough! So get yo a**es out of bed, 'cause you-all got classes all day long." (It turned out not to be all day.  The school board realized it's error and shut things down at noon.)

A very good friend, who lived in the next subdivision to mine, and was a paraprofessional on the same campus, called me early that morning.  The first thing she said was, "Don't you dare drive!"  Zina and her family were northern transplants from Brooklyn - Joe, I imagine you can hear her speech patterns.
"Steve and I are coming to get you.  We still have our snow tires and he knows how to get us there alive."  I obeyed.  The names Steve called our superintendent on the drive in were irrrepeatable here, but perfectly understandable under the circumstances.  It was a very scary ride.  Steve knew what he was doing, but nobody else did. Cars were skidding and spinning all over the 4-lane road that we were on for the first half f the drive.

When I was in NC for Christmas in 2010, when the east coast had the huge snowstorm, David wisely turned the drive to the Norfolk airport for my flight home over to his New York wife.  It was still a nerve-wracking trip because no one in NC or VA knew how to deal with so much snow.

It isn't nearly as big a problem in Northern areas where it happens frequently, and drivers know what to do and the cars have the proper tires.

The winters I remember are those with snow, drifting snow, ice and icecycles.  Sure it was cold and often miserable, however there was also something exciting about it and still is for me.  I like walking in the snow, even being blown about with the wind, and then getting inside the house in front of a warm fire, thawing out and enjoying a hot beverage.  A genuine Christmas to me is with snow, ideally starting on Christmas Eve.  Taking a walk on Christmas Eve with snow falling is something special.  If one has the foresight to stock up on food, being snowed-in has charm.  When driving is not possible, walking to a store or bakery for some fresh bread is another adventure.  It also brings people together with neighbor helping neighbor during the shut-in.  
Just me.