Let it snow

Snow is coming. That is, more snow is coming. There are still 2 days left in December, and already the winter seems snowier than any in recent remembrance. And it's not only snow - it's ice, too, an even greater difficulty.

It's been a week since the 3-day ice storm that enveloped our region just before Christmas, and the recent report is that only 1,200 people are without power. Only 1,200! And countless more had a cold Christmas, staying with friends and visiting warming centres, while their Christmas trees stayed unlit and turkey dinners uncooked. I heard of one woman who had to cook 3 turkeys on Christmas Day because they were already thawed and the families who bought them couldn't cook them.

Winter is here. Only a few generations ago, people worked all year round just to prepare, to survive this season. It doesn't take much - a few power lines downed by ice-laden branches - to remind us how much we have, and how much we've forgotten.