I admit it, I love snow.
When it snows, I am transported back to those days as a kid when I would
run outside at the first sign of snow and play in it for hours. So long in fact that by the time I got home,
I could barely move I was so cold. Back
in the day, Vancouver used to get lots of snow but nobody believed me, until we
got that huge dump of snow in 1996 that hung around for weeks.
Over the years, Vancouver seems to get less and less snow
and when we did get it, there would just be a dusting in the morning that was
gone by evening. Lots of times there
would be no snow in Vancouver, but lots out in the valley. So, when the time came that I had decided to
move, my choice of location, was somewhat influenced by the extra snow.
Imagine my excitement when the snow warning was broadcast on
Sunday. I spent the evening right up
until bedtime, looking out the window and checking for snow. I can sit for hours at a window watching snow
fall. It is so peaceful and brings back
memories. My Mom was the same way, even
though she was born in Saskatoon. She
still loved snow and maybe that’s where I get it from.
So, when I woke up yesterday and heard all the reports of
snow in Vancouver and surrounding municipalities, I kept waiting for it to
happen here in Maple Ridge. Instead, the
temperature hovered at 2 Celsius all day and it rained from morning to
night. As if we haven’t had enough
rain. Even watching the traffic snarls
didn’t dampen my enthusiasm.
Admittedly, I’m retired, so if I drive anywhere, it is
usually by choice. I don’t drive near as
much anymore as is evidenced by my truck which was purchased December 29, 2010
only has 32,000 miles on it on December 6, 2016. That’s not a misprint. My truck has a button that can switch the
readout between standard and metric.
While I can certainly understand kilometers per hour, I have no clue
what gas mileage in kilometers per 100 liters mean. That’s why I use miles on my dashboard.
I have absolutely no problem driving in snow, partly because
of all the various driving courses I have had over the years and partly because
my truck has 4-wheel drive. I even
anticipated the snow last week and had some very nice BF Goodrich All-Terrain
tires installed on my truck. I opted for
those as they will handle anything and are rated for snow. It also negates the need to store 4 tires and
have them changed back and forth.
What I do have a problem with on the roads, is not my
driving skills. It’s all the morons out
there who are incapable of driving with any shred of intelligence in the
sunshine, let alone in snow. Driving
with summer tires, driving too fast for conditions, getting stuck repeatedly.
I can remember one snowfall in Vancouver, there was one
woman who managed to get stuck at not only the same intersection but the same
spot, every day for eight days straight.
The strange part about it was she was turning to go downhill. The first day, probably half a dozen
neighbours came out to help get her unstuck.
The second day it was reduced.
The third day it was down to two and on the fourth, only one guy came
out. On day five one old guy came out
and yelled at her to get herself out.
Shoveling the snow is not an issue, because living in a
townhouse means that the management company takes care of any snow
removal. I don’t have any sidewalks to
shovel anyway. But, since we didn’t get
any snow, there was no test of the efficiency of the snow removal work in the
complex.
So, the reports yesterday of 8 cm of snow in Vancouver and
up to 15 cm in Surrey was very disappointing as I sit looking out on bare
streets and rain. I got up this morning
hoping things had changed overnight. It
has at least stopped raining but the temperature has dropped well below
freezing and I can see glistening of ice on the road.
We shall see what the rest of the week holds as the weather
reports are all calling for sub-zero temperatures for the next week or so and
another snowfall warning is in effect for Thursday. That means Wednesday will be clear and I can
make my usual long trek to UBC to play hockey.
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