FINDING YOUR PIECE OF THE GOOD LIFE
By J. MARK LEE
Local Attorney, Lifetime Resident and Playground Builder pro tem
It used to snow around here, a lot. There was never a winter without a snow you could play in, sled on or eat. Matter of fact, every year there were several good sledding snows just perfectfor snowball fights, snow crème and a thrill ride on a sled down what is now Jack Lowery’s front yard on the Southeast side of what we call “Water’s Hill”.
That was then, this is now. Last February I flew with my 13 year old son Robert, to Chicago to travel to a cousin’s house to get in some good sledding. Most folks around here will travel to Vail or Aspen looking for some skiing, but I was determined that we were going to just find a hill and sled down it until we were exhausted. My son and I had as much fun as we’ve ever had and now he can grow older with at least one memory of sledding downhill, because there hasn’t been a good sledding snow in Wilson County for years.
As I write this piece, I’m praying that we have as many snows this year as we’ve had rains. I know that works a hardship on a lot of people, but I want a snow that will close school, shut down the town and kill all the cold germs and flu bugs for the season!
I remember the January it got to seventeen below zero around here and I remember the January I grilled out in the back yard while it was in the 70’s. I remember the winter the rain fell freezing on everything and my heating unit went out and I had to tough it out by a wood burning fireplace until the ground thawed enough for the repairmen to fix it. Winter weather in Middle Tennessee is about as hard to predict as it comes. Global warming aside, I want it to snow like all get out, and I predict this will be the winter we get some. Call it Poor Mark’s Almanac. We will know soon enough if I'm right.
My friends and I walked to school back in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade. Every winter we had our eyes glued to the school window praying for the first flake to fall. Bob Lobertini used to draw the weather on a big map on TV and I can’t think of a single boy or girl that didn’t want to grow up and draw snow and sunshine on that big map or everyone to see just like he did. It was almost as though the weather man himself brought such delights as good snow, cold weather and no school.
We didn’t worry much with the quality of the snow back then when making that scrumptious confection called snow crème; mom only required we didn’t get any yellow snow. She would add some vanilla flavoring, milk, sugar and that perfect touch of love and voila, the most delicious stuff the winter had to offer.
Yes, I hope it snows around here this year….a lot.
