We in Louisville were afflicted with an inch of snow last night. Despite there being no apparent accumulation on the roadways, this was enough to delay or shut down several local schools. Of course, that never translates into a day off from work for us. My motto? If we have to go to work, then you kids have to go to school!!

Now some of you have never experienced the misfortune of living in a wintry climate. This may be your first wintry winter for others. Perhaps you are a first year at a college somewhere in New York, and you come from Florida. You have my condolences. I’ve been in New York in the winter, and you probably won’t see the sun again until April. You might want to consider transferring—I’ve heard that Pepperdine in Malibu, California provides great educational opportunities.

But for those of you who have decided to stick it out, let me give you some words of wisdom. I come from a place where, this last Monday, it snowed not one, but ten inches overnight. And after 13 years in that school district, I can safely say that they didn’t have a snow day yesterday. This means that I’ve had some experience with winters.

The first thing you should know—it will take you a little bit longer to get from point A to point B, whether you’re walking or driving. If you are driving, you’ll want to get up about 10 minutes earlier on a snow day to give yourself time to scrape off the car. Then you won’t be late to work or school, as I was this morning. Ooops.

And that leads into a very important tidbit. If you are driving, DO NOT become one of those obnoxious people who only scrapes off two little holes with which to see out of the car. I don’t understand this—do they like driving around as though they were in an igloo? The poor people who follow such a driver onto the interstate will inevitably get a little mini-blizzard of their own as snow whirls off the top of the offending car. Even if you clear off the sides, as long as there is snow on the roof this phenomenon will still occur. Plus, then your car will look like an adolescent boy with a bad buzz cut. So please clean your car thoroughly.

If you plan on walking at all in such weather, I would advise that you have proper attire. I am still amazed by the time one NNPCW member came to Louisville for a meeting in December with only a denim jacket and some flip-flops. In her defense, though, she’s from Florida and attends school in Louisiana.

I, on the other hand, left my apartment this morning wearing my brand-new pair of long underwear I got for Christmas (click here for more stories on that), my skiing gloves, a lightweight but durable rain jacket with hood, a hat, and a scarf. This creates an almost-impenetrable shield between myself and the evil forces of coldness. You may feel like the Pillsbury Doughboy waddling down the street, but at least you won’t be cold!

And if the snow is heavy, I always have a pair of insulated snow boots, wool socks, and waterproof snow pants I can pull out of the closet. These come in very useful for those times that you may be forced to dig yourself out of your dorm room or parking space.

One more thing, this time serious—when you are out, do be careful. Sidewalks are slippery and black ice on roadways can be deadly. My dad always told me to drive only as fast in poor conditions as you feel comfortable. Who cares if the Ford F150 passes you on the right going 60 mph? At least you’ll get there!

Here’s to a speedy winter and a long, warm, beautiful spring!

“Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment.” --Psalm 102:25-26a

Kelsey

In defense of people living in the Southeastern part of the country, it might only snow 1", but they don't mention the 1/2 of the snow is actually ice. It's 1000x more difficult to drive on a 1/2 inch of ice than it is to drive in 5" of snow.

northwestern snow becomes ice the second day it's out there - its that nasty crusty ice that comes when the temperature has gotten to about 36 and then frozen again - ugh!