snow: here and there

i grew up in southern ohio. we didn't get lake effect snow or several feet at a time, but we had true winter with real snow. tennessee (and most of the south, for that matter) gets an inch or two a couple days per year. and then they freak out. today, nashville got "real" snow. i'm expecting schools to be closed for a week!

here's some observations i've made between snow up there and down here.

*in the north, you have a whole separate wardrobe for snow days. a snow suit, long johns, snow boots, waterproof gloves, plenty of stuff to bundle up in.
*in the south, you take your regular winter clothes and make do. that means your regular (non-waterproof) coat, your regular knit gloves, your regular shoes. the funniest thing i've seen is putting plastic grocery bags on your feet. some put it over their shoes, some put it over their socks.

*in the north, you own a shovel, a sled and a good ice scraper for your car.
*in the south, you sweep the snow away with a broom (or a rake or your garden shovel), you use trash can lids, sand box lids, a slab of wood..whatever you can find to sled on. i've seen kids trying to sled when there's more grass than snow, and one time i saw a mom and kid "sledding" down their front yard, him in a box going down a plank of wood, since only flurries were falling from the sky. and instead of finding a good hill, people tie a rope to a vehicle and ride behind. you don't see a lot of good, heavy duty ice scrapers. i used to have a neighbor that would sit in his truck with the heat on and then use his windshield washer fluid to "melt" the snow/ice. that took him forever.

*up north, the cities have equipment...salt trucks, snow plows, people have chains for their tires or even snow tires (which have little metal pieces in the tires to drive with a good grip on the snow/ice.) snow tires are illegal on the roads when the roads are clear. it snows, but life goes on.
*in the south, they have the snow clearing equipment, it's just very limited and they don't seem to use it properly. a few weeks ago when we had about an inch on the ground, there was salt on the roads. today, we have about 4" on the ground and even the biggest and busiest roads hadn't been cleared. if they were clear, it was because of the cars driving on them. i was shocked. if there's a bit of snow on the roads, they just shut everything down. i've seen lots of people driving 4-wheelers for fun in the snow. (maybe they do this up north...i grew up within the city limits)

*in the north, the snow starts around halloween and doesn't stop/fully melt until march. the novelty wears off, there's giant brown piles of snow everywhere. you're sick of the cold, sick of tracking the snow in everywhere, sick of scraping your car.
*in the south, you get a good snow, enjoy it, then the next week the high is almost 50 degrees, and sure to be warmer by march.

and that is why this girl is proud to have plenty of snow experience, but happy to live in a warmer climate!!

****disclaimer: these are broad generalizations for entertainment purposes. they're based on truth, but i'm not saying everybody fits into one category or another. :)