Batten down the hatches

Batten down the hatches is an old nautical term meaning secure the ship in preparation for an oncoming storm.  It's sound advice at sea and sound advice ashore.   So I'll be busy today preparing for what the weatherman calls a "dangerous storm" heading our way.   Not that there's much to do except restock the pantry before the snow starts flying Tuesday night.

The weatherman is saying we'll get one and a half to two feet of snow and wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour!    That's harder than the wind roars through the halls of Congress.  The storm is expected to continue until midday on Wednesday.   If what he predicts comes to pass, I'll be busy  digging out the driveway by that afternoon.


According to the Kalamazoo Gazette the weatherman has "warned that the the storm could rival the Blizzard of ’78, a monster that blasted the state with nearly 2 feet of snow on Jan. 26, 1978. Kalamazoo saw 22 inches of snow from that storm."


I remember it was a Thursday night when the snow began falling.   I went to work at the post office and by the time my shift ended Friday morning I couldn't get my car out of the parking lot.  It was a mile or mile and a half walk home, with a stop at a grocery store along the way to pick up a 12-pack of beer.   By Sunday afternoon they'd pushed most of the snow out of the parking lot with plows and I was able to dig my car out and drive home.


Some people complain about these winter storms, but in Michigan most of us take them in stride.   And some of us actually are looking forward to this one.   Those would be school children  in the area who are gleefully  counting on a day off  Wednesday.   

Lori Sullivan is dwarfed by banks of snow following the
Great Blizzard of '78

                             

Dan Sullivan supervises snow removal operations

Lori Sullivan pauses from her duties for a snapshot