Snow

Believe it or not, snow is on the ground here in North Carolina.

I made the family stay home (he says to Berkhimer, flexing his big, complementarian muscles), after checking with my wife. I actually tried driving them into school, since most of the schools didn't close or delay - even though we are supposed to get snow and ice all day; ten miles into it, I called it off. We were slipping on the road. And I'm uncomfortable driving with other drivers in those conditions - especially with two children unbuckled in the back of the Jeep and a 45-minute trip ahead of us. I saw a couple cars slide off the road. And on the way back, a school bus had been rear-ended by a car as the bus was about to turn into the school (though it's not been reported on the news - not sure if it will be). I also heard there was a head-on collision between a bus and a private vehicle nearer my wife and children's school.

Snow in the South is a different animal than snow in the North. And while I used to think they were pansies down here, I am now convinced that it ought to be treated differently here. Not only are the drivers here unaccustomed to driving on slick roads (they drive too close and too fast, they don't know what to do when they begin sliding, etc.), but the DOT is unprepared for the rare wintery day. Yes, they get their brine and salt trucks out there, but they simply don't have the equipment and personnel to cover the area as those of you who live in the North do.

So I got a bit upset this morning when I woke up and saw the snow on our road and then heard that none of the county schools were closing. I got a bit upset when I heard the local weather saying (at the time) that everything was hunky-dory. I got a bit upset that the meterologists are now looking a little chagrined as there has been a 10-car pile up on one of the major highways. (Upset, because they have no right to say what the weather will or will not do when it comes to wintery weather - they should qualify their comments and remind parents that their children are their responsibility. Granted, parents should also have the wherewithal to say No to schools and employers.) Furthermore, I got upset because my children have not seen snow in two or three years in North Carolina. Give the kids a snow day and let them enjoy it - let snow be more about magic and wonder than disappointment. Let them play.

Let them eat cake.

Other than that, I'm happy as a clam. I'm enjoying the snow, the hot cocoa, and my family.

(An update: The city schools between our house and my wife's school have closed. And there is talk that her school may be releasing at noon after the state exams are over - the real reason, perhaps, they didn't cancel school.)