Welcome to my blog, or should I say to the ramblings of an old man. I doubt that my ramblings are of much value, but at least I have an opportunity to share them.  So, please be kind and humor me. If nothing else of value stands out in these thoughts, I hope that you at least sense the value I place on a daily walk with the Lord.  That walk is what has provided me with motivation and a sense of purpose throughout my lifetime.  My prayer is that you, too, are experiencing this direction and joy in daily living which is available to everyone who puts his trust in Christ.  So, thanks again for joining me.  Please don't go without leaving some comments here so I can get to know you better as our paths intersect today in this blog.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Let It Snow ... Not!

For those wishing for a white Christmas, if you live in southeast Pennsylvania, I believe that your wish will come true. Saturday's record snow will still be here and there is a warning of more to come on Christmas Eve. So be careful what you wish for. Here in Millersville we received 16 inches which is the largest pre-Christmas snowfall ever recorded, breaking the record of 13.5 inches in 1926. For those who say we never get snows like we used to, think again. We've just experienced history. There are a few other snowfalls that I still remember. The worst one was in 1958 when we received 20 inches in March. What made it the worst is that in those days they didn't have the equipment that is available today. There were snowdrifts on route 501 to the tops of telephone poles. I remember that storm well, because I was returning from a concert in Harrisburg the Saturday night the snow began, with my choir director and a friend, and it took us hours to make the trip since we had to stop often to push cars so we could get through. Half of Lititz was without electricity for several days and they were finally able to get milk and bread into town – by train. (Here is an interesting video of that storm – STORM - it will start after the brief commercial.) I don't recall what year it was, probably in the late 1960's when we had snow on Christmas Eve and much of the day on Christmas. I don't recall the amount. I had been in the hospital for tests and they released me late in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, not knowing that we were headed to Sunbury. Poor Dianne had to drive that night, through heavily falling snow, with two small children and a very ill husband. I still wasn't well enough to drive home a few days later, so my brother-in-law and sister-in-law followed us home and my brother and father came to shovel our driveway and some drifts which were blocking our street. In 1979 we had 15 inches on President's Day and in 1983, on the same weekend, we had two feet. That sticks in my mind because I had to have a medical procedure done in Lancaster and we drove through the deep snow in our yellow VW bug. In 1996 we had 35 inches over a four day period, including one day with 21 inches. I remember that snow because it came when our granddaughter, Taylor, was born and we drove into Lancaster to take her brother Zachary to the hospital to see his new sister. When we got to the hospital we were told that we shouldn't be there because Lancaster was officially closed due to the heavy snow. But we were there, we visited anyway, and we managed to get home again safely. We thought Taylor should have been named Storm. And then there was the ten inches we received on Christmas Day in 2002. For the first time ever, the two of us sat at home, alone, on Christmas and watched the beautiful snow fall. Now there are several obvious signs that I am getting old. First, I am recalling these old stories. Second, I no longer enjoy driving through snow. Third, I've already had enough snow for this year. And fourth, I am beginning to wonder if it is better to stay here and endure the snow or move to Florida and endure the hurricanes. Well there might be some good news. I used to enjoy the recently deceased columnist from the Lancaster Newspapers who annually would give his winter predictions based on observing the wooly caterpillar. And his predictions were as accurate as the professional forecasters, although that isn't saying very much. Well this year I've seen exactly one wooly caterpillar and he had a black neck and the remainder of his body was brown. So my interpretation is that this means we will have a stormy beginning to the winter, and we have, and then the rest will be mild. And on that I am counting! I'm dreaming of a … mild winter!

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