03:39:29 pm on
Thursday 05 Dec 2024

Blue Moon Blizzard
Matt Seinberg

Today, Sunday, was the day we dug out from under Jonas, the Northeast Blizzard that hit us like a bulldog on Saturday. The snowdrifts were over six feet high in some spots, and getting through them was no easy task.


Digging out on Saturday was impossible.

When the blizzard hit late Friday night, early Saturday morning, we all knew that digging out that day was to be impossible. When we woke up on Saturday morning, around 8 am, a glance out the window confirmed our worst.

The streets were still unplowed. There was a clean blanket of white, as far as we could see. We couldn't open the front door to look around, since snow piled up around it. The same happened to the back door.

Marcy got a phone call from her work; her store wasn't opening and I got the same call a little while later! Yes, it was a snow day, at home, with nothing pressing to do. Marcy got the day, with pay. I didn’t, as I had run out of any time to use.

I got one major thing accomplished. I changed the sheets on our bed, which I normally do on Friday. Other than that, I watched television all day, including many shows from the DVR and On Demand.

Marcy has had a very bad cold all week. She spent much of her day in bed. The girls were in their rooms chatting away with their friends.

The big question during the day was should we go out and shovel and clean the cars or wait until the morning? We opted to wait until the morning and I told the girls to be up by 8 am.

I get up at 8 am and proceed to wake up my sleeping beauties. I think we all got outside by 8:30 am. They all started to shovel and clean the cars, while I walked through a six-foot snowdrift from the back door to the garage.

After I put some air in the tires and gas in the tank, my trusty Craftsman snow blower was ready to go. It started right up and off we went!


Where to put all the snow?

The question now was where do I put all this snow? If I go to the right, it will just hit the fence and blow down towards me. If I go left, it'll just build up the drift I walked through and will have to clean at the very end before I put it away for the day.

I plowed ahead, and stayed to the right side of the driveway, as I had put all three of our cars on it the day before, and left enough room to use the snow blower. When I got to the end, eight feet of snow at the foot of the driveway welcomed me with an evil laugh.

Let's see who has the last laugh here. I bullied my green Craftsman into the snow bank, riding it up high, only to have to bring it down again, repeatedly, until it was clean and conquered.

The sidewalk was next. I had to go through that like the end of the driveway. I had to ride the snow up high, and attack it from the bottom.

I finally got it all done, and finished up the backyard. I cleaned the inside of the snow blower and tucked it way in the garage until we needed it again.

As I hadn't heard from work, I called my friend Jeff and asked him how the conditions of the roads. He was on his way to work. I told him to tell our manager I was going to be a little late. As it turns out, two thirds of the staff didn't show up.


The full moon, in a now clear sky, explained everything.

As I'm driving home, I notice a full moon high in the sky. That explains everything.

It was a full moon blizzard.

 

 

 

Matt Seinberg lives on Long Island, a few minutes east of New York City. He looks at everything around him and notices much. Somewhat less cynical than dyed in the wool New Yorkers, Seinberg believes those who don't see what he does like reading about what he sees and what it means to him. Seinberg columns revel in the silly little things of life and laughter as well as much well-directed anger at inept, foolish public officials. Mostly, Seinberg writes for those who laugh easily at their own foibles as well as those of others.

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