That really has no ring to it at all, but it is what it is.

There are no pictures here as there are plenty elsewhere, just a couple of thoughts as I listen to my landlord do the driveway plowing.

I have a found a few things out over the past few days including: I have absolutely no patience for those taking to social media to whine about what they did or didn't get in their front yard. You didn't get four feet on your sidewalk, too flipping bad. That's a burden for a lot of folks including you. Go outside, make your snow angel in the plentiful snow we got and zip it. One person's frolic could mean serious issues for those surrounding you. You have sunshine and pavement in your neighborhood! Mazel Tov and shut up too. When it is as cold as it has been, there are folks who've had to struggle with minimal heat, icy conditions, snow totals that might be beyond their abilities to move it. So, knock it off.

As George Carlin would say, here's another group of guys who should be slapped with a bag of hammers: the goofs comparing how this blizzard doesn't stack up to other blizzards because of snow totals or whatever meaningless statistic. "Only 18 inches of snow, that's no blizzard they write, back in the day, 77, that was a blizzard." I know plenty of folks who have been or will be shoveling in this crappy wind chill would like a word with ya, Sparky. I mean, if you've lived in the Buffalo Area for a significant length of time, you've been through something like this before at some point, but each one is different, weather being funny that way. The local guys I watched pretty much got it spot on, but hearing some wags on social media attempt to joke about one storm versus another and how "this was nothing" is exasperating. Bet the plow drivers, triple a folk, and police groups doing travel ban duty don't think so. Some of these storms like 77 had body counts. This one did too. So, I don't get overrought when this type of weather gets here, but I take it seriously, despite the fact the phrase "Polar Vortex" sounds like something the Enterprise ought to be orbiting.

It seems there are few folks griping about preventative measures, like cancelling schools before the storm itself starts. "We didn't do that in my day." Well, your day might have been stupid.

We were fortunate as kids. My mom had no problem overruling the school superintendent. I was half tempted to have her call the NHL about the Sabres-Hurricanes game yesterday. You're lucky, Bettman, mom is on speed dial.

A few years ago, this area started summer with a lot of rain. Warm weather, but the better part of 10 day period, downpours were the order of the day. I, secretly being five, paid it no heed. I was at Target picking up a few things, and from the register, I could see that night's downpour cranking up. My rounds for done for the night, so no big deal. The umbrella's in the car, but I didn't care. I was done, what's a little water, it comes right out. I took my purchases and stopped to locate my car and just watch the water for a moment. Slightly to my left, I could hear a guy wound up, upset, calling the rain names, his car was on the other side of the lot, gonna effin drown, etc. None of this was the rain's fault, but I did have a little bit of sympathy for the person on the other end of the phone. To complaining boy's left was a woman watching the rain and trying to hid her amusement at the complainer.

Before I said something stupid, I did the wise thing: secured my purchases and leapt off the sidewalk into the biggest puddle I could get to and strode off to my car. He cursed, she laughed and I think did the exact same thing as he continued to weave a tapestry of obscenties that loitered in the moist air over the store entrance.

It's only water, dude, lighten up.



This came back to me the other night as we got some localized rain and one of the downpours hung over my apartment. I walked out onto my porch and just listened, let it rain, didn't watch anything in particular, just let nature do its thing. Know my mental remote control has never settled on any one channel for very long, but it was the closest I've ever come to a mediative state. I had yoga teachers maintain that such states were possible, but I think they were just overselling exhaustion. It was just a calm, warm rain, just loud enough to drown everything out. Despite being three stories over one of my city's busier streets, things disappeared. A raft of thoughts and worries stopped.

There was an awful lot of whining going on about when are we going to get ours in terms of snowfall? I really wanted these people to shaddup because if in Buffalo you ask for snow, chances are it will still be in here in APRIL! It’s less charming then, in fact, after the holidays, I’m sort of whatever. But some things are certain, death, taxes, the Mets sucking, Snow in Buffalo? Settle, it came.

So, it never ceases to amaze that there is somebody driving down Elmwood, with a few inches of snow covering their car, windshield barely defrosted, no lights on.

I don’t mind the snow, just what can happen mind sets. Having four wheel drive is the key to NOTHING and there are few folks in the city who think having a four drive car has given them the powers found usually with residents of Krypton.

It’s the little things that make it even more interesting.

The traffic light on my street took on disco light flashing, which brings an even busier intersection that much more of a mess as we all forgot the four way stop rule they teach you in driver’s ed.

There isn’t that much snow as I write this but somehow folks are already in the streets.

It is what makes the “Where is our snow” facebook status updates and tweets sort of laughable.

“It’s here!”

Alright, I need a word with you, yeah, you, the yahoo who posted on his Facebook or Twitter feed to "Bring it On!" with the forecasts of cold and snow. You, dear sir, are a schmuck! You complacent, commuter cup swilling, jug head. I thought of you while waiting for AAA Tuesday morning. I enjoy the seasons to be sure, but those who somehow measure their manhood by snow piles I think need to be smacked back to consciousness, preferably with something frosty. Changing tires is not a six degree sort of activity.
Yes, we have handled snow just fine, but 6 degrees is cold, too cold to enjoy the snow for very long.

It's cold, especially if you develop a car issue, as mine did, on the way to work, for the first time in almost a week, on a busy street, during rush hour, with a grumpy teen in the car.

While waiting the admirably fast AAA folks, (helpful dude showed in 30 minutes) all I can think about were the yahoos who filled social media spots with "Finally" "Bring it On" "Bout Time." There will be time for all the fun stuff as we enjoy Winter until May, then have near winter, not winter, then near winter again. So, settle down as the tire that might need changed tomorrow morning might be yours. Don't go tempting Karma like that, she's burn out a headlight in temps like this and make you drop the most important screw into a dark corner that you can't see into and your fingers will be too big too reach.

It snowed in real numbers in the southtowns. Go there, and settle down, we'll get ours.

I'm not a good civic booster. After staying out till the hours known as wee on Friday, walking the wing fest yesterday was a nausous feeling that I could only escape by running here, this after taking a well deserved nap in the comfort of my ac laden bedroom.

Felt better because of stepping into the water, laughed all the way as I accomplished the completion of the parenting triple header, embarrassed the young son. He was the longest hold out, but apparently me walking the marina barefoot was too much for him, walked about 15 feet behind me all the way back to the car.

It's good to be five

Perhaps, it was the cold. Perhaps it was the need to repair all the tires on my car. Perhaps it was the mild concussion suffered two days before one of my offices bigger benefits (having slipped on the ice in front of my ex's house). Perhaps it was the ticket I got in the previous journal entry. Perhaps it was the rent increase that arrived in yesterday's mail, but I'm ready for a new month. February was a kidney stone of a time frame. Even the fun of a new romance (yay, me) got a little tempered with all this crap.

A lot to process.

There, got that off my chest.

As you were

Sure, it stunk getting into work this morning, then I got the reminder about this lovely storm from somebody who had the termerity to not be alive when it hit. 34 years ago today, I got a whiff of capitalism. Neighbors went to Florida two days before and hired me to shovel their driveway while they were away, figuring they’d pay me for a couple of passes. Can you say eight?? My best childhood chum and I went on a record purchasing bender at National Record Mart with our proceeds.

Till that storm, helping my dad with the snow removal largely consisted of staying out of the way while he ran our behemoth of a snow blower. Mom would say “perhaps you should help your dad.” I could sincerely reply “I am” while watching tv. This made sense as the snowblower was a big one and the last thing you needed while running it was somebody else “helping” at one end of the driveway.



This was mammoth snow and the blowing made things impressive until you had to move them. My childhood home had such an odd shape that a roughly eight foot wall formed outside the back door, but left enough of a canal to the garage that we could make it to the garage to access our “Battery of snow-fighting equipment.” It was a rare occurence as usually helping my Dad clear the driveway meant staying out of the line of fire (and usually inside), but I think even my brother was party of the relocation of the driveway campaign.



The winds made it a multiple day chore, but by the time the worst was over, I was an ace snowblower pilot and using that on those Florida bound neighbors, who are still stuck listening to everybody else’s Blizzard tales.

My longtime partner and crime used the almost two weeks off from school on some arctic architectural pursuits, constructing a snow fort still legendary in its expanse, two floors, complete with slide to get from the balcony level down to the mezzanine.

Even the neighborhood bully was impressed

Sure, it stunk getting into work this morning, then I got the reminder about this lovely storm from somebody who had the termerity to not be alive when it hit. 33 years ago today, I got a whiff of capitalism. Neighbors went to Florida two days before and hired me to shovel their driveway while they were away, figuring they'd pay me for a couple of passes. Then the Blizzard of '77 hit. Without sounding too old man like (since I know most of you weren't here yet), that was a storm. Can you say eight trips?? My best childhood chum and I went on a record purchasing bender at National Record Mart with our proceeds.



Till that storm, helping my dad with the snow removal largely consisted of staying out of the way while he ran our behemoth of a snow blower. Mom would say "perhaps you should help your dad." I could sincerely reply "I am" while watching tv. This made sense as the snowblower was a big one and the last thing you needed while running it was somebody else "helping" at one end of the driveway.

This was mammoth snow and the blowing made things impressive until you had to move them. My childhood had such an odd shape that a roughly eight foot wall formed outside the back door, but left enough of a canal to the garage that we could make it to the garage to access our "Battery of snow-fighting equipment."

The winds made it a multiple day chore, but by the time the worst was over, I was an ace snowblower pilot and using that on those Florida bound neighbors, who are still stuck listening to everybody else's Blizzard tales.

My longtime partner and crime used the almost two weeks off from school on some arctic architectural pursuits, constructing a snow fort still legendary in its expanse, two floors, complete with slide to get from the balcony level down to the mezzanine.

Even the neighborhood bully was impressed

My inner crumudgeon is showing. We had a heavy snow fall, which is no big deal. We get them every year, and the snow is fine. Never had an issue with it as it is a fact of life living in this region. I do think the Weather Channel might be better served by going some place where this is news as opposed to the skulking around they've been doing in regions south of the city.

I still chuckle remembering my mom telling the 12 year old version of me that perhaps I should help my father with the driveway. In all seriousness, I was able to reply that I was and I went back to watching tv. I knew that my Dad liked fewer targets when running the snowblower.

Like I said, I have no snow issues. It's the effect it has on some folk that is troubling. I think it should be a ticketable offense if you can't be bothered to clean the snowdrift off your car without the aid of your gas pedal.

The false bravado that creeps up in here strikes me funny as well. When that huge storm blew through the East Coast, there were a number of Western New York based facebook posts that lamented "Where's Ours?" like we got gyped out of the power failures, traffic accidents and school closings. Personally, I was happy to sit that one out.

We got our cold and snow and I read about some moron who took three kids to the Bills game only to pass out in a snowbank because he's a "such a fan". Bet the kids had a great time standing next to the snowbank wondering what happened.

Trouble with this is that now that the holidays are behind us, it's not a White Christmas, just snow. It has some novelty at the moment, but right now it looks nice outside my office window. The Park is nice and unspoiled, but that is a transitory state. It's beautiful, but the beauty tends to make some folks a little myopic.

It was fun to watch the Bills play in it yesterday as the snow on tv made the pros look like a pickup game. It was not so fun to look at my windows facing Delaware and see them iced over.

Going to go tubing sometime because that is cool,and have some other outdoors exploration planned, but please unless you are Bing Crosby or Andy Williams, don't use phrases like "Winter Wonderland." You sound like an idiot.

Read nothing but bitching in one form or another yesterday. "We had tougher storms and still went to work/school/whatever." Yes, we have and I think my point was be glad you didn't have to be out yesterday. As I write this now, it is 16 degrees outside and not much warmer in my office, but watching the wind & snow have at it yesterday, I was glad the kids got the day off and didn't have be chasing buses and their mom got the day too. The topper for me was getting the phone call a little before 7:00 a.m. that I got a day too. Somehow I stopped caring that I couldn't see across Delaware Ave.

Yeah, sure we've battled bigger storms, but I'm glad we didn't have to, by last night it was just cold. I had to pick up a daughter from a friends house, disturbing my car from the nice warm garage. Got a slight thrill driving my unspoiled car past snow mounds that had cars at their bottoms. It was real easy to find mine in the Wegmans parking lot when I made a quick stop on the way home.

I'll leave you with this one thought: the person who invented the "necksock" for Columbia outerwear is a frickin genius and deserves a better cut of whatever royalties they are currently receiving.

Stay warm, peeps