ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 3, 1996 TAG: 9602050061
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A9 EDITION: METRO
ROUND TWO, and the weather is pummeling Virginia again. Inch after inch the snow falls, covering the face of the state so unmercifully that Virginians are struggling to stay off the ropes.
And where warmer temperatures dare to put up a weak defense, the storm blindsides us with a lightning-quick hook of sleet and freezing rain, putting the skids on any counterattack.
Virginia is reeling; it's dropping to its knees; it's ...
Wait a minute. The weather already delivered a knockout punch in Round One, remember? Just one short month ago? The state of emergency? The National Guard? The request for federal aid from a governor otherwise disposed to malign Washington's helpfulness? The snow-packed streets that provoked, in some quarters, criticisms of municipal snow-removal efforts?
What are we doing still in the ring?
"If we yell 'uncle,' will it stop?" one snow-weary colleague asked in the elevator Friday morning. Nope.
There's an old wives' tale that goes something like: "When snow stays around for two weeks, it's waiting for more." And that last snow did linger, at least in shady spots.
Virginians love their traditions, but it's safe to assume that many would gladly have given up this one for continued blue skies. The Bedford County woman who passed this bit of lore along added that she saw some little piles around her house and tried to melt them with her hair dryer, but the cord just wasn't long enough to get them all.
So, it's back to scraping, shoveling, pushing and plodding through snow that falls with utter indifference to its effects on human transportation and commerce, whether Virginians are physically or psychologically prepared for a rematch or not. That's hitting some of us below the belt.
Amid these blows, it is totally up to us to maintain some sense of decorum - to remain friendly and helpful to strangers; to drive prudently or, better yet, not at all; to abide with loved ones in cheerful harmony; and, if it will help, to haul out the cocoa and marshmallows again. Go sledding. Read a good book. Make the most of a break from routine.
It would be gauche to focus too intently on reports of subzero temperatures in the Dakotas. It would be unseemly to take a bit of comfort in our relative ease when compared to, say, Little Falls, Minn., where the temperature dropped to 43 below zero before daybreak Friday (that's not wind chill, that's actual temperature) - though we know as we hear that Floridians are basking in 80-degree temperatures, that they are delighting in our hardships. No breeding.
We will not act that way. It would be inappropriate. Besides, this snow is supposed to be followed by bitter cold here, and we don't want the fates penalizing us further for lack of sportsmanship.
LENGTH: Medium: 54 linesby CNB