Blizzards and Stuff

Results of the blizzard of 1978. Al Greek, Harry Glasper and Steve Noonan showing how deep was the snow.

I think the worst/best blizzard I ever lived through was the blizzard of 1978. It snowed hard for about three days. It wasn't just the snow, it was the way it blew into huge drifts. EVERYTHING was closed. No, I take that back. There were places that had to be open, like the Kroger on Ireland Road, because people who were stranded had to be able to get emergency supplies. I was living on campus of a small, mostly unknown Bible College in South Bend at the time. I had been "dating" Jay for only about a month and it was during this period of being snowed in that he actually asked me to marry him. I know what you're thinking. Only dated a month? Yeah, well, we were both on campus of that school for four months before that, and we dated several more months after that before we actually got married. But still, you're right. I didn't really know him well enough, and it is a miracle that this has lasted for almost 33 years. He asked me to marry him on February 3, 1978, while we were snowed in during that blizzard. I guess that gave me a good enough reason to be fond of blizzards.

I know it isn't popular to like things like blizzards. I am well aware that blizzards cause deaths and distress and make a general mess of everyday life. I am bothered by the death and distress, but I have to admit, it is the havoc that is made of "everyday life" that makes me like them. To me, it is fun to have things disturb the hub-bub of everyday life. It is disturbances or out-of-the-ordinary occurrences that make life more interesting and memorable. You don't usually remember an ordinary day too well. But add a disturbance, and it makes the day more memorable. We tend to attach memories to special occasions: weddings, birthdays, funerals,...blizzards...

We had a fire here in Middlebury, Thursday, January 27th. Probably the only people who will remember it will be  the ones that live here in Middlebury that saw it in progress and had to pass by the remains of the burned structure every day. They may not remember the date. I had to stop and think about it a minute, and I was here taking pictures of it most of the evening.

The blizzard we had February 1st and 2nd of this year will be a different story. It was not just our little town that experienced that blizzard. That storm had a pretty wide belt. Whether or not you got snow or ice it affected so many people across the US that it will be well remembered for years to come. There will be stories built around it and memories attached to it. Some of them won't be good memories. A dear friend of mine lost her mother to cancer the day the storm hit. My daughter-in-law will remember that she was once again parted from her husband as he left for survival training for the military. A 93 year old man in Brown County Indiana accidentally locked himself out of his home and froze to death during the night. There were people who got stranded in traffic on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago that had to abandon their cars on the street and seek shelter. Plain old shoveling snow from driveways and parking areas was not fun!

There will be good memories too. Children stayed home from school two days and had snow adventures. My daughter, a Montessori teacher, also stayed home and went "crazy in the kitchen" to her heart's content. A lot of people stayed home, safe and warm and happy that they didn't have to go anywhere. Maybe someone got engaged during that time. It happened to me once!

It does me a lot of good to just have time off for a day to get caught up on some rest, to have some solitude, to bake some pumpkin bread and ponder on life. I guess we are all just holding on tight or hanging loose, depending on your situation, and a blizzard can be a major disturbance or a welcome respite, or in some cases, a real catastrophe. But any day can be that. Stuff happens.