By Rosie Moore

Winter is the season when the whole world seems to go to sleep. The weather is cold, the ground is hard, and the trees and plants seem to be dead. Since there is little else to do, it is a time that is conducive to working hard, and the weather seems to suggest that we must buckle down and do the things that we have been avoiding. This is not a bad thing. How does wintry weather affect our lives? It can be very satisfying to work hard and be creative. Creativity is part of our makeup. Without a purpose in our lives, depression would quickly set in.

The snowiest winters in Tennessee occurred in 1917 when thirty inches fell in Nashville. 38.5 inches of snow fell in 1956-1960 and the winter of 1950-1951 came in second. Now our annual snowfall is only seven inches. Where did the snow go?

A winter snowstorm can range from a moderate snow to a blizzard. I remember well the snow in 1960, for I had a daughter born that year. Also, I had to walk across snow-encrusted fields to get to my car to go to work—this was up North. I loved the “blizzard of 1993” down here, but that seems so long ago. I don’t want a snowfall like that all the time, just once in a while, mainly to bring back memories. Most people know I’m a uprooted Northerner down here in the south, so I miss the snowstorms that I grew up with, because there are not many of them here. Once in a great while I’m happy to see one or two inches floating to the ground, but it isn’t long until they are gone.

I won’t attempt to discuss global warming because many people think they know what is causing it. The Earth is thousands and thousands of years old and global warming probably has occurred before. Will it get back to normal? Perhaps. Who knows? I only wish I could sing that old song, “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”

Thought for the day: Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together. Vesta M. Kelly

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