JANUARY BLIZZARD

I love the winter here. I even love the snow, though the older I get, the harder it is to get around in the snow. Still, I wake up most mornings and run to the window like a child, hoping to see that all-changing coating of white. I have enjoyed snow in the two margins of my life. During my adult working years I was required to shovel, put chains on the car, and grapple with layers of clothing and rebellious boots, but now, as when I was very young, someone else does the shoveling and grappling, and I can remain in my nightie and bathrobe all day if I want to, because I don’t have to go out in bad weather. Much better.

One winter, sometime in the late 80s or early 90s, we had the most snow I’ve ever seen here. I remember the weatherman on Channel 5 showing a graphic demonstrating the snow depth was more than Wilt Chamberlain’s height. For those of you who don’t remember Wilt, he played for the Celtics and was the tallest man I’ve ever seen. That winter our backyard filled up with snow to just below the level of the back porch, about 6 feet. Our Chihuahua, Robert, had never seen snow, and apparently thought the ground had mysteriously risen somehow because, with a little bark of joy, he leaped off the edge of the deck and disappeared from view, leaving only a dog-shaped hole in the drifts below. He somehow managed to burrow his way to the stairs and emerged on the deck, cold and embarrassed, a minute or so later. He never did that again. That year we had snow on the ground from November until the end of March. A real New England winter. Robert’s companion dog, Pearl, a large black Lab, could be seen leaping hugely over the mounds and pushing large hills of snow around with her nose. I can still see her rolling around making doggie snow angels.

When my then-partner, (now Wife) and I opened our real estate business in the Circular Cellar, we thought it was quite picturesque and unusual. After all, one of the largest circular cellars on Cape Cod is a conversation starter, for sure, but we failed to consider the ten steps down from the sidewalk, and what would happen when that stairwell filled up with snow. When it did, right up to the top, it took a whole day and several hearty and helpful souls to dig it out. That year we had five-foot high snow walls separating Commercial St from the sidewalks. Nobody said “Oh, we don’t get much snow out here…”, though I distinctly remember being told that when I first arrived in Provincetown.

This time, we’re supposed to get two feet of snow and 80 mile-an-hour winds. It’s already begun. There’s about an inch on the ground and no sign of it stopping. I’m all snug in my house with the fire going, and oil lamps at the ready should the electricity fail. We have plenty of food and the neighbor has graciously allowed us to hook up to her generator so we’ll have heat if we need it. Nothing else to do but hunker down and wait till it’s over. Stay safe