The White Death Approaches

Growing up in New England and attending college in upstate New York, snow was always called "snow". When there was lots of snow, it was called a "blizzard", and some of my best memories growing up happened on "snow days". Who didn't love hearing that cancellation announcement on the radio and then spending the morning and afternoon sledding, making snow angels, and eating snow cones with maple syrup??

Out here in Cincinnati, I've only heard snow referred to as the "White Death". This term absolutely captures just how people feel about snow...they HATE it and live in FEAR of it. What's worse, and I realize this is a very broad generalization, they often don't know how to handle it. For example, last night, the breaking news on a local website was "Cincinnati Road Crews Brace For Snow". More than 12 hours later, we haven't seen a single snow flake, but I guarantee the snow plows and salt trucks are ready to start their engines.

Sadly, the salt trucks probably won't have to spend much time in my neighborhood due to a layer of salt still remaining on the road from a major fire last week that consumed a local market - the Beacon Food Mart.


An electrical fire started on the left side of the building late Thursday night. I happened to be dining at this great sushi restaurant next door (a future post will be dedicated to this cuisine in Cincinnati) when everyone rushed out to see the flames engulfing the store. It's always sad to see this happen to a locally-owned, family-run business. The reason for all the salt is that several fire trucks flooded the area with water and there was a deep freeze that night. I'll call it the "Ice Death". Up until this morning, before we got the rain (NOT SNOW), there was salt everywhere. Sodium City!

So as I sit in my office, waiting for the snow to fall, I wonder just how the natives will react. I also reminisce about those fun days of sledding down a neighbor's hill. Finally, I think about my friends and family in the Northeast who are bracing for their own blizzard. Have a great weekend and stay safe and warm!