Ode to Snow

Winter is upon us (most of us reading this anyway) and with the frigid temperatures, there is something else out there to remind us what season we're in. Are you living where you can look out the window and see the fluffy white stuff we all know to be snow? If you are, where would you classify your attitude towards it? "Never enough," "It's enough," or "Too much?" Growing up, I would definitely say that I was a "Never enough" kind of kid. Despite the arduous task of shoveling our driveway, the positives still outweighed the negatives. Now, however, as I find myself in a different geographical location that does not see a lot of snow in the winter, I would definitely create a new classification: "Not enough." On my way to work amid mild flurries, I found myself reminiscing about all the fun I have had in the snow over the years. I realized that I have had A LOT of fun times in the white stuff, so narrowing down a Top Ten List won't be as easy as I thought, but here goes anyway:

#10: Although not exactly "fun," my adventure in the ol' Silver Bullet '86 Camaro from Moorhead to Glencoe is definitely memorable enough to crack the top ten. I was traveling in white out conditions, snow drifts blowing all around me, and I drove white-knuckled behind the only thing I could see - a semi-truck. I prayed continuously that he wouldn't veer into a ditch, because if he had, I would have been right there with him.
#9: Drive-Way Fort Building: I don't know how old I was when I actually stopped building snow-forts because it was just a given every time the plow would bless us with a fresh batch of fort-making material. We had some amazing structures I tell ya - good times.
#8: Although 9 out of the 10 on this list will have memories from states other than where I currently live, there is one that needs mentioning from Richmond. Rebecca and I went to our annual Christmas Book Club dinner over at some friends from church, and we arrived to clear skies and empty lawns. When we left about 2 hours later, there was a fresh covering of snowflakes on everything - a beautiful surprise.
#7: Much to our parents concern and worry, my brother and I grew up testing gravity with our inner-tube sledding down our monster hill on Harding Street. We would zip down at breakneck speeds before soaring off the compacted snow ramp at the bottom to see how far we could stay airborne before landing in the street. I'm sure it wasn't very long, but back then, it felt like eternity.
#6 While making a Superheroes video in St. Anthony, I donned my Robin costume and hit the streets directing traffic. As as proudly walked by snickering drivers in my green tights and turtleneck, I staged a fall that was horribly miscalculated. I drilled my head on the snow covered ice on the sidewalk and had my first concussion. The fall looked incredible on playback though.
#5 Ben Bruins' house was the destination for ultimate sledding from my early years. Ben's dad sculpted a bobsled like course in their backyard - he even took the time to ice them to maximize speed. This is probably my earliest memory of having the need for speed. I am forever grateful to Mr. Bruins for his awesome dedication to us wee ones and our sleds.
#4 During my junior year of college, I took part in what I dub "The Braveheart Snow-ball fight." A freak snowstorm left an entire university blanketed in a couple feet of snow. This amazing stroke of luck was magnified by twenty when that university was in the South, where they rarely or never got snow in the winter. I along with my entire dorm at NC State joined forces and battled against other dorms in a snow-ball fight of epic proportions. We had the rest of the week off to recover.
#3 During my freshman year at Moorhead State, me and several friends planned to leave for a weekend retreat in Bismark, North Dakota. A big snowstorm interrupted our plans and we instead stayed in the confines of Minnesota. From this setback, we ventured into the streets of Moorhead and created our own American Gladiator like game called "Scrum." A combination of the viciousness of Rugby and Football and the scoring of basketball, we debuted this awesome winter time "annihilation of your best friends" game that never got old.
#2 The Halloween snowstorm is easily one of the best snow memories of my short life. When mother nature dumps several feet of snow on Halloween, some might decide to cancel their child's plans for trick-or-treating. Me and my friends were lucky to have no such parents - no, our parents let us go out and conquer the candy world in our costumes like champions. With so few kids out that Halloween, we were able to trudge through mountains and waist high cliffs of snow and make an absolute killing on candy that probably would have lasted for years if we weren't...well, kids.
#1 The Columbia Golf Course provided sledders of all ages with a variety of hills to satisfy their dare-devil dreams. Taking to the course with your friends and a 6 foot toboggan made for the sweetest of all snow time memories. Piling 6-8 fully grown high school boys on at once and flying down a hill with the intentions of sailing skyward off a ramp - priceless. Hours were spent trying everything we could think of, and when "backwards" was inevitably suggested, we gave it everything we had. Perfection took a few runs, but ultimately, we hit that jump, and we hit it good.

I hope you've enjoyed this breakdown of my fun with snow over the years. I know some of you still keep the spirit alive by hitting the slopes, making snow-angels, pelting loved ones with snowballs or taking your car fish-tailing through vacant parking lots, and for that I am proud of you.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part about playing in the snow: wearing moon boots and snow-pants. After all, who needs a sled - or even snow - when you've got snow-pants?