Plowed Roads Only

We have recently had some larger snow events in "our neck of the woods" as well as some windy weather causing drifting and poor driving. Areas of the east coast have had record breaking snow amounts. We all watched the news in amazement as "front end loaders are needed to clear parking lots of snow that may not melt for days" (insert tongue in cheek). In many part of the country, including our back yard, snow that falls in November is still on the ground in April.

At any rate the snowy scenes had me reminiscing this and that about snow days as a kid. Whenever there was going to be measurable snow fall we kids would bound out of bed to check the TV or radio to see if school would be late or called off. In retrospect it seemed silly to get up early to see if you can sleep in.

It would be important to monitor the reports continuously in case " two hours late" became "classes and evening activities cancelled". Now cancellation a cause to celebrate but even more important no one wanted to walk a half mile for the bus, wait 40 minute wondering if it went in the ditch only to have a neighbor drive by and quip "Why didn't ya hear, classes are cancelled".

Another odd snow day happening was having school cancelled early. The school administration would want us all at school to garner their state funding. If we were already there and the weather got worse we would go back home about 1:00 PM. On occasion school was two hours late and closed early. This meant a frozen wait for the bus followed by hazardous ride to school, two twenty minute classes, regular lunch period then wait for the buses to come back for another perilous ride home.

There was one other school delay addendum, an asterisk if you will, that I especially looked forward to: Plowed roads only. My family lived a ways out of town, so far in fact that the sun set between my house and town. Why I was 12 or 13 years old before I found out my name wasn't "Git wood"...well, you get the idea. The important point was if I woke to a feeble little blizzard, one that only required bulldozers and Chinook cargo helicopters to clear the parking lots, as long as I heard that sweet phrase "plowed roads only" I could return to bed and enjoy a bonus vacation day, made by God.