Wednesday, January 9, 2002
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Wednesday, January 9, 2002 |
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Surviving the latest winter storm By MICHAEL BOYLAN I survived Winter Storm 2002, or as I like to call it, "Twoey." Thankfully, much of the snow has melted and not refrozen on the streets of Fayette County. It was fun while it lasted and I was impressed by the beauty of the winter wonderland that was my backyard, but I don't think our grocery stores could have handled an extended winter storm. The Kroger that my wife and I frequent appeared to have been ransacked when we went shopping last Thursday. Boxes of Twinkies and bags of plain potato chips had disappeared. Each aisle had a huge gap where products like pasta or canned chili had once been. There were guards standing by the bread and milk displays, now conveniently located next to each other. It was very unsettling. When the first meteorologist in Georgia mentions the words "snow" or "winter storm," people start to panic. They worry about driving conditions and getting to work the following day, but they panic about having enough food, especially bread and milk. Is there a dish that can be made with bread and milk or are these two staples used to build a spackle of sorts to further insulate a home? I imagine a family gathered around a large mixing bowl in their kitchen, drowning a loaf of white bread in a bowl of milk and smushing it all together. The father hands his son two large handfuls of the goo. "Here, Junior. Go line your windows." In a true winter storm or blizzard, it would be necessary to have a lot of food in the house, because you are not going anywhere for a long time. For those of us who lived through "Twoey" last week, you remember that the roads were drivable by about noon Thursday. In fact, I can't recall any snowstorm down here in the last nine years that lasted for a long time. There was an ice storm a few years back, but things started melting the following day. I must admit that, though I am not native to Georgia, I view winter storms with more trepidation than other transplants from the north. I moved down here at the age of 17, which meant that I didn't get a chance to drive in snow while living in Massachusetts. I know that I should drive slowly and apply the brakes gently, but I have never been able to practice. Until the other night. It was very scary and, thankfully, the roads were almost deserted. Though I did survive the blizzard of '78 in Massachusetts, I was only about 2 or 3 at the time. I remember nothing of it. There are some classic pictures of mountains of snow towering over my very small and expertly wrapped body, but it was just another day of cookies, hot cocoa and Sesame Street to me. Sometimes, I wish that a true blizzard would come to Georgia. I think being trapped in my house for a few days would be great. I've got plenty of video games to play and DVDs to watch. I could re-read "The Shining" and think about the dangers of cabin fever and I always have plenty of bread and milk in the house. Well, if we get "Twoey, Part II" maybe I'll get to do those things. What I'd really like to do though is go sledding. Anybody know any good hills around here or where I could buy a sled?
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