Snow

There are many reasons why I love that cold, white stuff that falls from the sky, but here are the top 5 reasons:

Human Solidarity

Yes, there are a few old grumps out there who remain unchanged by the shimmering coat hugging the earth, but for the most part, snow brings people together in a positive way. Neighbors shovel each others driveways. Groups of strong men form out of nowhere to push stuck cars out of drifts. As Trish and I walked around with our sleds yesterday in search of a hill, strangers called out to us in friendly terms, wishing us luck in our quest. People never call out to us when we’re out for a walk on a snowless day, and if they did, we would probably feel slightly uncomfortable. When snow falls, it’s something we have in common with the people around us, and indifference toward our fellow man transforms into joviality.

Acceptability of Weird Actions

You can do totally strange things in public, and no one thinks less of you. In fact, when I was driving home from work yesterday, feeling a little nervous as my care slid this way and that even as my steering wheel remained stationary, I noticed kids of all ages actually bounding around through various yards, leaping up in the air and landing with a powdery smack on the ground. They ran and slid. They skipped. They screamed. On a normal day, I would have worried that there was something wrong with a bunch of children performing these activities, but in the snow, it seemed so wonderful, I couldn’t help but grin broadly, wishing I were out there with them. Later, when Trish and I where out walking, I got the urge to stop, fall on my back, and flail my arms and legs like an animal in a trap, creating a pretty fantastic snow angel if I do say so myself. I wonder what would happen if I randomly fell on my back and started flailing around on a non-snowy day…

Multiple Layers

How refreshing to see lumps of clothing ungracefully navigating around in the snow. People appear more cheery when well bundled, sporting colorful hats and scarves that catch and hold falling snow flakes. When they slip and fall on the slick snow, they do not cry out, but rather, they laugh out loud, having again become the awkward children they once were. Also, on cold snowy days, fat people have the advantage over skinny people, since they are naturally able to hold in their heat better. Skinny people have to put on more layers of clothing to create artificial “fat” to compensate for their inferior bodies, and often in this condition, an onlooker would be unable to tell a differences in peoples body types. Fat people are sort of like gods of winter; the envy of anorexic movie stars and the like.

Sledding

How much of an explanation do you really need? Half the fun is sliding out of control and flipping over at seemingly break neck speeds, the other half is observing how goofy it looks when others perform the same feats. You get to bundle up and wear multiple layers of everything, spend hours sliding down and trudging up giant hills, then when you’re completely exhausted, you sit around sipping hot cocoa while your clothes tumble around in the dryer. Yes, the only thing better than sledding is sledding at night.

Mutt Reactions

Of course there are exceptions, but most dogs I know love snow. When we were kids, our dog Lucky would pull us down the sledding hill to give us more speed. She would become hysterical with joy at the sight of snow, and even when she started to get old and less enthusiastic about most things, she never lost her vigor in the snow. Our current dog Scrappy bounds around like a gazelle in the snow, and she is constantly eating and snorting it as she goes. I think she might actually get sort of high off it through the snorting process. Nothing is funnier to watch than a dog enjoying a snow storm.