Incoherent Scribblings

Snow in Texas

Snow Cactus
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian.

I have heard tell that out here in West Texas there are few things that get folks as excited as talking about the weather. Since we live in the desert I find this rather amusing because typically the weather here isn’t all that exciting. With the exception of a couple of days in early October where the thunder rumbled and there was a sudden, but brief downpour, in the two months that I have lived here the weather has been anything but thrilling: It has either been hot and dry or windy and dry.

Therefore you can imagine everyone’s excitement when the weather-person began predicting a cold front that might bring the possibility of snow to West Texas Town early last week. As the day of reckoning grew closer the speculation increased: Would it freeze? Should the plants be brought in? Would there be ice or snow on one of the busiest travel days of the year? And most importantly… Could we finally turn off our air conditioners?

On Wednesday while I was out and about I noticed a significant drop in temperature and decided it was time to pull my fall jacket out of storage. I unplugged my air conditioner and tried to figure out how (and if) the heaters in my apartment worked. That night the temperature dropped below freezing and the next day the talk of snow around town was even greater than before.

Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday passed without so much as a snowflake drifting to the ground, but when I went out on Saturday morning to do my errands I was greeted with cold, thick raindrops. I knew the temperature must be hovering around freezing and when I went to the grocery store I could tell from the thin supply of milk and bread that everyone was hunkering down as if a blizzard was coming.

A few hours later I heard the first brakes skid in the parking lot below and I decided that barring the Apocalypse I would not be leaving my apartment anytime soon as inexperienced snow-drivers made everything from driving my car to walking down the street dangerous. I settled down with some hot chocolate and my stitching and every so often I peeked out the window to see the magic of desert snow.

The next morning the clear blue sky was broken up by a few wisps of cloud and it was cold enough that the snow was still on the ground, but it was obvious that the “storm” had passed.

And by this afternoon the temperature had rebounded and the snow had all but disappeared.

A Snow Story

Snow Bike
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian.

Coming from Iowa I am no stranger to snow storms or deep snow, but even if this was my bicycle I don’t think it would do me much good to ride it to the train station today.

Since yesterday the Munich area has received approximately 50 centimeters (or about 20 inches) of snow and all public transportation apart from the underground (aka subway) has stopped running. And according to the news, yesterday and today you could/can expect 20-80 kilometer traffic jams, delayed or canceled flights, and disrupted train traffic.

A spokesman for the traffic police in Bavaria warned that those who do not absolutely have to go somewhere should stay at home and so that is exactly what A. and I have done this weekend: We left the car in the garage, watched the chaos on TV, and have periodically gone outside to play in the snow.

However, as we were trudging through the snow this morning snickering at the poor souls who dug their cars out from under the snow only to get stuck in the drift that all their digging had created, I was reminded of how when I was a kid I would get so frustrated because my parents didn’t want to brave the roads during a snow storm.

I especially thought that my mom was a wimp because at the first sign of a slippery road she would hang up her coat and tell us if we thought we needed toilet paper that badly we should just walk ourselves the eight miles into to town and get it. Of course once I got old enough to drive and after I ended up sliding into a ditch or two myself, my whole attitude about driving in the snow completely changed.

Now, as a native Midwesterner I had no choice but to learn to drive in the snow and even though I have not lived in Iowa for nearly ten years, I can still drive in the snow… even if I have to drive an ancient rear-wheel drive car.

And as a result of that “confidence,” on the day that we got a slight dusting of snow when I was in Iowa a few weeks ago I decided that I just had to run some errands. Without much thought to the snow, the small hill that my mom’s house is on, or the retaining wall kitty-corner from her house, I jumped into my 1980 rear-wheel drive Chevy Malibu with its studded tires and stepped on the gas… And promptly slid around the corner and came face to face with the retaining wall.

But like the proverbial “bike riding,” as soon as I felt the slide I remembered exactly how to steer out of it… which is why instead of hitting that wall I stopped in front of it with about an inch and a half to spare!