People enjoy skaing at the Bartlett Mall on a wintry Sunday.
Depending on how you look at things, we've been real lucky so far this winter. A pretty mild first half, and no bona fide snow to speak of.
Last year, we went in on a snowblower with our neighbors. The husbands trekked up to Sears one Sunday morning, on the verge of the season's first storm, and returned, giddy with excitement, eager to see what that puppy could do. Later that afternoon, as what would turn out to be nearly a foot of snow, began coating our driveway, we finally felt part of the winter-fighting in-crowd, as snowblowers revved up around the neighborhood, and arches of propelled snow lined the street.
It was the only time our purchase saw the light of day last year. This year, we haven't even thought about the thing. Didn't even bother to get the hunk of metal tuned up.
Most people I know consider this an uncommon stroke of good luck. It's friggin' cold, but thank God there's no snow.
In Massachusetts, the mere hint of a snowstorm jumpstarts the local meteorologists into quick action - with their stormtrack, winter force teams, doppler radar and hourly updates - and frightens even the most "hardy" New Englander into making an emergency trip to the grocery store. And that's if we're expecting a few inches of snow. Inches!
Can you imagine, then, if somehow the entire population of Massachusetts were magically transported to the upstate New York village of Redfield, where they are on the brink of breaking the state record of the most snowfall in a week? The record was set in 2002, where ten feet, seven inches fell over a seven-day period in the nearby town of Montague. Redfield is reported to have seen 11 feet of snowfall last week. Tomorrow, an official from the National Weather Service will verify that claim. There are some Bay Staters who, no doubt, could handle it. But most of us would be curled up in the fetal position wondering how the hell we were going to watch 24 with no electricity.
Quoted in an AP article, lifelong Redfield resident Allan Babcock said, "It's snow. We get a lot of it. So what?"
He makes us hardy New Englanders, complaining about our recent cold snap, look like a bunch of you-know-whats.
Yeah, it's cold. But it's winter. In New England.
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