With Apologies to Karen Carpenter . . .

Yesterday was a yearly milestone in our part of the country -- the "first snowfall of the winter" (you'll be hearing Karen Carpenter in your head for the rest of the day -- you're welcome).

Now those of you in the south may cringe, and those of you in the north will surely roll your eyes . . .



Because this is all it amounted to -- just enough to coat the ground. I can remember when we would laugh at this. When a friend I grew up with moved to Houston back in the early 80s, he was shocked the first time they got 1/4" of snow and the entire city was paralyzed.

But we're getting that way. The snow didn't start until after 6:00 a.m. and it was unexpected (chalk up another swing and a miss for the weather weasels), so the salt trucks didn't get out until after rush hour had started and the roads were coated with ice. And around here, many people forget how to drive on ice and snow each year until they encounter it for the first time.

So the interstates were shut down and I saw several cars overturned in the ditches. And we had no heat when we arrived at the mail center. Our furnace guy was stuck in traffic on the interstate -- he said he pulled out into the grass and drove nearly six miles before he could get off. Now I'm not advocating driving off the paved highway, but we did appreciate the warmth when he finished.