Snow Day

I took this picture from the doorway of my bookstore about an hour ago. It’s a Snow Day. Obviously.

For those of you who don’t know that that means for the south coast of western Canada, allow me to explain. Because we seldom have temperatures near or below freezing, this kind of weather throws the entire population of greater Vancouver and surrounding area into a turmoil. About 3.5 million people (give or take) in a frenzy. Scary.

1. Schools are closed. Kids rejoice. Parents don’t.

2. Roads are closed. We live right beside the mountains, so we have lots of streets with hills. Big ones. When they get slippery, you’re done.

3. Road crews, unaccustomed to doing any actual work, stare at snowbanks in terror. They have no idea how to clear a road or a parking lot.

4. Weather reporters use words like “storm” and “wind warning”. Hey, I lived on the prairies until 15 years ago and there isn’t any kind of weather I’ve seen out here that I would call a “storm”.

5. People simply stay home. Now, I must admit that I like that part. I had no excuse today, however, since I live just half a block from my store and I quite enjoyed the walk. Not that I’ve had any customers to reward my effort.

The temperature is rising now, and the snow is turning to rain. In a day or two it will be back to normal around here.

And the lady who just zoomed by on her cross country skis can wait until next year to do it again.