Eye of the Beholder

Snow...
Snow? SNOW? SNOW!!

It's the 22nd of January, for crying out loud! What's going on with this weather? This is Boston - New England - what's with the snow, anyway?

I'm being facetious, naturally. In any of the past winters this "snow" would have merited scarcely a few ho-hum yawns. While this is the first appreciable snow so far this winter, it will elevate the total accumulation to about six-tenths of an inch. It is ironic beyond belief that the city of Los Angeles, California, has had more snow than Boston.

The cartoon above and to the right has nothing whatsoever to with with snow, obviously. Having said that, it is indicative of the reaction displayed by a lot of the local residents. There were mobs of mothers laying siege upon the local supermarkets. There were vehicles queued at the gas stations. Phalanxes of people were stretched onto the sidewalks outside the banks.
....Despite the meteorologists' forecast of anything from a trace to a dusting, there are those who suffer still from the Blizzard of '78 Syndrome. The effects of that stormed crippled the region for the better part of a week. Public transportation ground to a halt. The infrastructure of many towns was paralyzed. The shelves were empty in the stores. Cars were abandoned, buried in snow on the major roads and streets.

As I watched the snow falling, I noted that it was actually painting a pretty picture on the lawns, hedges and rooftops. However, it was clear, at least to me, that this snow was not going to amount to much.

Then some of the things I saw made me wonder if perhaps I needed to have an eye exam. It has been awhile since I last had my eyes checked. As I've grown older, time has purloined more and more of my vision with each passing year.
....The last time I gazed upon one of those eye charts, I couldn't read the last three lines. I would be both chagrined and saddened if I had to read an eye chart like the one at the left and couldn't see beyond the fourth line. (Guys, clicking on the chart to enlarge it does little or no good.)
....I would hope that the opt-whatever-he-is would be so kind as to allow me to walk up to the chart after the examination, don my magnifier reading glasses, and then study the last few lines! If he's going to make money fitting me with glasses, the least he could do would be to let me exercise my hormonal curiousity. No?

There were kids in snow suits lying in driveways and yards trying to make snow angels. Some were trying to make snowballs to no avail in the dry granular snow. One kid was even straddling a sled, trying to get it to slide down a small slope in his yard. No doubt, there were some disappointed kids longing to build their first snowmen of the winter.

By early evening, although the streets, lawns and parked cars had been coated in white, it must have finally become obvious even to the kids that Old Man Winter was just teasing them. En masse they went back inside their homes to partake in some more worthwhile activities, such as playing on their Play Stations, or X-Boxes, or Wii's. If it wasn't bad enough, they even had to go to school that day.

So it was, like the crowd of men gathered to watch the painter finish his provocative artistry on the billboard, things just were not what they at first appeared to be. The supposed beauty of snow is a matter of perspective. It's in the eye of the beholder.

Yes, I felt sorry for the kids who so desperately wanted snow - for about fifteen seconds! They get to romp and have fun when it snows. I get to drive from client to client all day long to earn my paycheck. All they have to worry about is whether there'll be school or not. I have to worry about driving and visibilty conditions.

Lest you think I'm a mean old grumpy Grinch-like character, I did broadcast a thought in prayer form up to Big Ernie for him to grant the kiddies their wishes. I ask him to work on the kids' parents to convince them to take a winter vacation. Take them to Denver! They can have all the snow they need! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!

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