Snow Emergency or Snow Panic?

It's February...
...it's snowing.

Yet, somehow I can't help but laugh at how the City of Omaha-- or this entire area, for that matter-- responds to the natural beauty that is snow. I'm looking at about 4 or 5 inches of snow out my window right now, with a prediction for 8-12 inches forecast. And it is a heavy snow, as it was raining earlier today, but I still don't get the panic.

Growing up in suburban Chicago 8-12 inches of snow was nothing. Still had to go to school... and I could walk there. The elementary schools were at the end of the block, and dad walked two blocks to the train station. Junior High was a mile walk, but still-- had to walk there. The only hope for a snow day was that the school buses were snowed in-- or that they hadn't plowed the superintendant's street before 6:00. Usually neither happened until about 24 inches of snow.

We had more of a chance of getting a day off for bitter cold-- as in dangerously cold-- than for snow.

Does this mean I'm turning into my parents?... walking to school in 15 inches of snow, uphill both ways, with a 75-mph wind in your face (again, both ways).

I want an explanation on that one.

Either there was a hill or valley between the house and school-- which means you walked uphill AND downhill both ways to school. Or everyday between 8:00 and 3:00 there was a earthquake-- which nobody felt-- that changed the level at which the house and school both resided.

Did you think I wouldn't figure it out?

Now, Omaha is a different situation than Chicago. Omaha is a driving city-- and a 20-minute town at that. Doesn't matter if you're going to the store up the street, or all the way downtown to the arena. Twenty minutes... unless it's rush minute-- then it's closer to 25.

But I don't get why this city shuts down at the first sight of a snow flake. Seriously, if the wind blows the dandruff off the hair of someone in Denver, then entire state of Nebraska panics.

I just don't get it-- except that people can't drive here under normal conditions, so snow just magnifies the problem... as well as rain, wind, sunlight, darkness, and a partly cloudy conditions.

At least in Winnipeg the rule of thumb is, if you can't see the lines in the parking lot, it's a free-for-all. Just throw your car anywhere there is room. I guess Omaha is like that-- drive your car anywhere you find room-- those markings on the pavement mean nothing.

I think they're there for decoration.

But what I don't get is why all the churches are cancelling services tomorrow. Snow should not keep you from worship. Snow never stopped God. God created snow.

The catholics have it right. Get to church, come hell or high water. At this point, all the cancellations for services are non-Catholic churches. That said, the Catholics are cancelling Sunday school, and other religious education programs.

I'm not shocked. I mean, if you know anything about the Catholics, you know we don't believe in heating churches. So eight inches of snow is not a deterrent. Of course, you also usually within walking distance of a Catholic Church.

Rock Island, Illinois-- where most of my dad's family was living when I was growing up-- has three Catholic churches within a mile of each other. It goes back to the old historical Irish-Catholic, German-Catholic, and Polish-Catholic communities, and the stubborn nature of not being caught dead in a 'dirty' chruch.

Ironically, my grandmother, a member of the German-Catholic church had her funeral in the Irish-Catholic church... because they were painting her parish's church.

Well, as I was ranting here, I got a phone call from my boss. The hockey gams I was to ref tomorrow night-- because of the snow. Though, it's only flurrying right now. There hasn't been much of a change in the level of snow since I started typing.

Of course, we could always blame the Omaha media. They tend to hype things they shouldn't: Husker football, snow. It does create a less-than-ideal environment.

...and you all know how much I love to bag on the Omaha media.