Snow Behavior

People freak out when it snows, or more specifically when it’s going to snow!  During my many years working at Whole Foods Market I spent hours bagging groceries for people behaving as if the forecast snow was going to keep them shut in for days, if not weeks. Of course you will need eggs, bread and milk, because it seems everyone suddenly needs to make French toast when it snows…  Then there are things like toilet paper, pasta, sauce, cheese, and plenty of snack food, so we don’t end up eating our own arms off during the twenty-four hours we might be stuck at home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living in Philadelphia is the farthest south I have ever lived, and I spent enough time in upstate New York to understand what getting snowed in means.  Even in the worst storms I have  never been more than a day from being able to get to a store, and unless you have a household with three teenagers and go through a ton of food, why the need to stock up?  I bet most of us have enough food and toilet paper at any given moment to get us through a few days without resorting to desperate measures.  So why do people panic at the mention of snow?

Yesterday morning I realized I was pretty much out of fresh food- oh sure, my freezer is jammed with all sorts of mystery items, but in the fridge section I was down to some eggs, some cheese, and a lot of condiments.  So, forgetting about the impending storm, I went to the grocery store. Fortunately for me I was there before the real crowds arrived, but I did get to see some shoppers frantically piling their carts with food. On snowy days I am inclined to cook, so I got some things with cooking in mind, but it didn’t seem like many of my fellow shoppers shared that impulse, as they loaded up on frozen entrées, cold cuts and loaves of bread, in addition to the eggs, milk and TP.

Snow days are fun, and feel like a treat, though the thrill doesn’t last very long.  Once everyone gets back to business the residual snow is just a pain.  The unplowed streets become increasingly difficult to drive on, and where I live there are many streets that don’t get plowed. Philadelphia is also in store for round two of the dreaded Polar Vortex, and we will have miserable cold for the rest of the week.  In my perfect universe we have a whopping snowstorm or two followed by a few warm sunny days to melt the snow, and a day of rain to finish it off.  Clearly this won’t be happening this time.

As of this moment  we’ve got about ten inches, and the snow is forecast to last through the night!  That’s a lot of snow, and I still expect to be able to leave the house by tomorrow afternoon.  I have shoveled twice and will need to shovel again tomorrow when it will be about 8° and I am not looking forward to that.  But I will get my snow day, and maybe bake some cookies.  I have been wanting to make some matcha cookies, and tomorrow could be the day!