Snow update & snow memory

Still no snow. The ground is bone dry. Good thing we've got the whole area in pretty much a lock down. The winter storm warning runs from 7:00 am today to 7:00 am tomorrow. DC has declared a snow emergency starting at 8:00 am.

Now they're calling for sleet and freezing rain. I hate those things.

Anyway, in 1996 (?) I was working for a different company in downtown Silver Spring. Our president, Dr. B, was out of the country - a native of Somalia, he took occasional trips back there - and Rick had been left in charge in his absence. (Dr. B's snow policy was simple: It snows, we come in. After being raised in Africa, he lived in Boston for 20 years, so snow was just part of American winter.) So we were under a winter storm warning with several inches expected. It was a Sunday afternoon and the snow was coming down pretty thick and fast. Rick called me at home to get my opinion because closing the office is a huuuuge overhead expense but keeping the office open creates a sort of pressure on people to come in. I'm one of those folks who likes long phone cords and I pace when I talk on the phone. So I was patrolling between the kitchen windows and the sliding glass door as we talked. We reviewed all the pros and cons and weren't really reaching a conclusion when I noticed something.

Then I said, "You know, Rick, there's a wrought iron chair in our backyard that I like to sit in when I study during nice weather." "Yeah?" he replied, puzzled by the non-sequitor but used to my anecdotal style of communication. "Well, that chair is gone now. It's completely covered in snow." "Okay, we're closed."

We got 24 inches of snow that day. Our office was closed on Monday. It was open on Tuesday.

It just started snowing here. Sure is pretty.