Snow Day!

Detroit Big Snow of February 1965

     In the days before internet and smart phones, before cable 24/7 on-demand 755 channels, there was only one TV in the house and it was black and white. In fact, the whole winter world, the time between Christmas and Spring, seemed black and white. Martin Luther King had a birthday, but was not yet holiday. It was snowy and cold the whole winter. It was a time when we walked to school and even came home for lunch. Our sweaters and coats were heavy, woolen, and there was not a designer label to be found on them. It was before riots that redefined the City of Detroit. it was Thursday, February 25, 1965, I was eleven years old, and we had the first big snow I can remember.
     We did not have school that Friday. It was a snow day. I am not sure how we even knew it was a snow day. There was no email chains, text messages, nothing scrolled on the bottom of the TV. Maybe there was a radio report, perhaps my parents heard it. Most likely, we looked out the window and there was so much snow, no one thought of going anywhere. It was simply not possible. The world was white and pristine. There wasn’t a foot print or tire track to be seen. No one was, yet, out shoveling which was the only way folks cleared their walks and drives back then.
     It was amazing and awesome. It was quiet and beautiful. And, there was no school. It was an unplanned holiday. My Mother made a hearty breakfast, I am going to say oatmeal, but honestly I don’t remember. My Dad went out to shovel, but we only had one shovel. My sisters and I bundled up and followed after he had cleared a path. As it was a small city lot, there was not a lot of shoveling to do. I used to think about that when I shoveled my long drive in Connecticut in the 90s. We just enjoyed the snow and cold. The neighborhood and city slowly came to life and dug out. By Monday, we were back at school talking about the big snow and our snow day. It was a highlight of that winter.
     Since then, I have experienced a couple dozen snow days when school or work was cancelled. In recent years, with laptops, wifi, and cell phones, snow days became work at home days but they were welcome nonetheless. These days with improvements in weather forecasting, schools and businesses proactively close often the night before.
     This week there has been a forecast of a big snow in Chicagoland. The snow started this evening around 6 pm and is supposed to continue until 11 pm tomorrow. Last night I got an email that the Poon Parigentan (Mardi Gras) at our church was cancelled. All day long I have been getting inquiries from my students if we were having class tomorrow morning especially my Microeconomics students who were to take an exam. I just gave my typical response. If the university is open, I will be there. If it is closed, class is obviously cancelled. At 5 pm today, we all got an email that classes are indeed cancelled for tomorrow. Yay! A snow day.

Chicago Big Snow 2-9-18

     Kid or parent, professor or student, worker or boss, an occasional snow day is still an unexpected joy! I look forward to venturing out, take a walk, and marvel at the snow… oh yeah… and, of course, catching up on my grading.