Foreigner

It is on the rare occasion that I truly feel like a foreigner in Nashville. The city is so eclectic and full of people from all different areas of the country. But today, I feel as though I am from another part of the country far, far away. 

I grew up with snow, sleet, ice, and below freezing temperatures. In fact I recall going to school during several snow storms. Let me quickly define a snow storm in western NY as it may be very different than other areas of the country. A snow storm is when snow is coming down quickly and in high quantities. Accumulation occurs within minutes, not hours and a typical "storm" yields 1 1/2 or more feet of snow. Not only do these things occur but accumulation occurs so quickly that snow plows are not able to keep up and many times they will be forced to wait until the storm lets up a bit. Usually at least 30 % of homes are without electricity due to the weight of snow on the lines and ice in other areas. Unfortunately, we were almost always in that 30%. It is not fun to not have power in 15 degree weather by the way...

I recall driving to tutor a friend in one of the worst storms we had. I drove through 2+ feet of snow on the ground and there was a "white out" meaning you couldn't see anything at all but white. People had ice skating rinks in their yards and sledding and snowmobiling are very common. For my sisters and I, we enjoyed being whipped around on a sled tied behind the 4 - wheeler. My dad tried to knock us out and it was our duty to stay on the sled as long as possible. 

Okay... all this to say there is maybe 2 inches of accumulation outside right now, and I am stunned. I have NEVER seen this much snow in the last 4 years I've lived in TN. It's funny how 2 inches looks like a lot when you've never seen snow in an area. Not to mention the fact that when they were calling for this storm half of the schools in TN kept students at home and the other half let them out early. Everyone rushed to the grocery stores to purchase milk, bread, eggs, and cheese. I have never seen the Publix parking lot full and today it was jam packed. The product that seemed to be disappearing the fastest was, surprisingly, cheese. 

For those of you who haven't been to the south, I need to enlighten you for a moment as well. If they are calling for snow, schools and businesses shut down. If it starts snowing, people don't know what to do, except go to the grocery store as fast as they can and stock up on everything to make sure they're set in case they get stranded. They are simply not equipped with salt and plows like much of the northern states. And that is because it is on the rare occasion that there is enough snow-like precipitation to initiate the need for a plow or salt. 

I plan on adding pictures as soon as I find my camera cord... So keep checking back!

All this just reminds me that although I love Nashville, NY is still and will always be my heritage.