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Our driveway February 1978
There is a part of me that will always be 9. I carry that little girl around with me all the time but she has a tendency to really make an appearance whenever I am in the vicinity of a stuffed animal, a cute puppy, a box of crayons, penny candy, Winnie-the Pooh and the report of an impending BIG snow storm. There she was this week, all excited about the prospect of a Snow Day! Memories come flooding back, an old white transistor radio that sat on the kitchen counter with the news of "no school all schools", the sound of biting wind and snow against the bedroom windows, the feel of wet mittens after an unsuccessful attempt at yet anther snowman, the burnt tongue from a cup of hot chocolate with mini marshmallows and a family gathered to watch silly pictures with even sillier stories on the dining room shade from the slide projector. It seems as if it snowed more when I was a kid...never more than the REAL Blizzard, of '78.
Looking back it seems as if we were home til June. School was closed for weeks and there was no driving allowed. We walked down the middle of Rte 9 where no car had been or would be for days to come to make our way to the grocery store. Valentine's Day was postponed by decree from the Governor, who wore a different ski sweater everyday as he broadcast his updates of the status of things in Massachusetts. Later in the week we would walk to the movie theatre. Once schools finally opened we made our way through snow tunnels where the sidewalks once were to get home everyday, and hitched a ride on snow plows to get to the centre of town. We were snowbound but I don't remember having cabin fever even with long Scrabble marathons and the main excitement being the activity of climbing over mountains of snow to greet the neighbors
The View on our street February 1978
This weekend's Blizzard packed a punch, but nothing will compare to that February 35 years ago. The Blizzard of '78, for those of us who were fortunate enough to be safe and warm and with power, was a great time-an adventure, when life simply stopped in its snowy tracks for a bit. With this weekend's storm if you had power chances are, like me. you worked through the day and maybe if lucky got a little reading or knitting in. So much has changed -these days radio stations don't even read the endless list of school closings, kids get text messages on their phones when school is closed! I hope they put their iPads down long enough to get out and build a snowman. I will always cherish my memories of being truly snowbound-Give me a ride on a snowplow to the supermarket anyday!
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