February 1960

Looking out Mom's window during the recent snow

Hardly a winter has passed without the subject of February 1960 being discussed. My dad loved to talk about it. He was 22 years old that winter and working in Roanoke for Graves - Humphreys Hardware.

The portion of Interstate 81 between Christiansburg and Roanoke was not yet open, so The Old Way or Down the Valley, as some people call it today, was the main way to get to Roanoke in 1960. Dad carpooled with three other fellas on a regular basis. According to him it took them exactly one hour to get from Giles County to downtown Roanoke each morning.

Apparently, it snowed a lot the last three Tuesdays in February that year. 1960 is one of the snowiest winters on record. Dad said he and his buddies would head to Roanoke each of those Tuesday mornings bright and early. By the time they arrived at the store, it would already be snowing.

I wish I could remember the boss's name. As many times as I heard it I should, but I don't. The boss would meet them at the door and say, "Boys, you better head back to Giles County." They would get in the car and drive over the treacherous roads back to Giles County.

Spruce Run was nearly impassible part of that winter because of all of the snow and the snowdrifts. People carried shovels with them because you never knew when you would need to shovel yourself or a neighbor out of a snowdrift.

Papaw got hung up in a drift. I guess he couldn't shovel out and help did not come along so he had to walk home. My grandmother ended up staying with a neighbor near where the car was stuck for a few days. She was probably had a nice little vacation. She was an excellent cook and seemed to enjoy cooking, but it was probably nice to have a few days off from preparing three meals a day.

Mom was 17 that winter, a senior in high school, and going stir-crazy. I remember how she would chime in when Dad was talking about that winter. She said she was always on the lookout for anyone who might be able to get to her house, and she was ready to jump in the car with them and go. She also said that since her mother wasn't at home for those few days, she was in charge of feeding the family. She was not accustomed to cooking and macaroni was one of the only things she knew how to prepare. Apparently, though, she did not know the appropriate amount to cook, and they ended up with a mountain of macaroni. Papaw laughed and said, "Sissy, I think we will have enough macaroni." He had a quick, dry sense of humor and that's just one of many ways Mom is very much like her daddy.

Papaw and Mom at Debbie and Mike's wedding reception

Snow was still on the ground in May of 1960 so Mom could still wear her mouton jacket.

As I was thinking about writing this post, I was afraid we might have a February like the one in 1960. I'm very thankful the cold, snowy weather has abated. The blue skies and sunshine are such a blessing. There's still a lot of snow, but I'm hopeful we will not have snow on the ground in May.

It doesn't seem fair that...

Murphy is allowed on the bed and Max is not. Bobby's rule, not mine!

Enjoy the sunshine. I'm quite sure we are not out of the woods regarding winter yet, but I did see some daffodils poking their leaves out of the ground, and so we can be sure that spring is indeed on the way.

"While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease." Genesis 8:22

Stay warm until spring arrives. Have a good week!

Turn on the Light

I didn't turn on the light, and my ginger tea made quite a mess. Now that I'm thinking about it, I have no idea why I didn't turn the lamp on, but I didn't. My morning routine is pretty simple. Start the coffee, take my morning meds, spend time in prayer as I drink my morning coffee.

Several mornings a week I do a 20-minute Taebo workout with Billy Blanks after coffee and prayer. It sounds more impressive than it is. Billy Blanks is leading me via YouTube and it's pretty low key, but at least I'm getting in a little movement before breakfast.

About 15 years ago I discovered that ginger has natural antihistamine properties. My lifelong allergy cough had become an issue once again. I suppose a couple decades of allergy shots had calmed things down for a while even after I got tired of the allergy shot routine and stopped taking them. However, the coughing eventually returned with a vengeance.

I started grating ginger root and steeping it in hot water for a while before filling the pitcher with cold water and stashing it in the fridge. As long as I drink a glass of the tea each morning the cough mostly stays away. Why I decided to take my morning glass of ginger tea up to the bonus room to meet with Billy I do not know. I usually drink it with breakfast.

That is way too much information. I've noticed lately that I've started giving way more information than needed. Not sure why. Something else to wonder about I suppose.

The point I'm getting to, ever so slowly, is if I had turned the lamp on before setting my tea on the table, I wouldn't have had such a mess. I would have seen the coaster and set the glass fully on it, rather than half on and half off, causing it to instantly tip over when I took my hand away.

The coffee table had several small stacks of books (not a surprise I'm sure) on it along with a candle and a couple of favorite knick-knacks. After getting towels, carefully removing the books and drying the ones that had gotten wet as well as the candle and the knick-knacks plus drying the floor where the tea had made its way off the table, I thought boy I wish I would have turned on the lamp and prevented this whole mess.

When I fumble around in the dark, accidents happen that could have easily been prevented with light.

I'm sure you see where I'm going here. Letting the Light of the World make things easier at the start is better than having to clean up messes in the end.

It's easy to get comfortable in familiar situations or relationships. We get so used to doing things a certain way that the thought that something different may be better doesn't even occur to us. Maybe taking more time to let God's word be "a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths" (Psalm 119:105) would prevent a few messes. I wasted a lot of time cleaning up the spilled tea, but nowhere near as much time and effort as it takes to clean up thoughtless, hurtful words that spill from my mouth or trying to make up for something I should have done or should not done in relationships with others.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and so many unnecessary messes can be prevented by stepping in the light rather than the shadows of our own reasoning.

Stepping in the Light

By E. E. Hewitt

1. Trying to walk in the steps of the Savior,

Trying to follow our Savior and King,

Shaping our lives by His blessed example,

Happy, how happy, the songs that we bring.

Refrain:

How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior,

Stepping in the light,

Stepping in the light;

How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior,

Led in paths of light.

2. Pressing more closely to Him who is leading

When we are tempted to turn from the way,

Trusting the arm that is strong to defend us,

Happy, how happy, our praises each day.

3. Walking in footsteps of gentle forbearance,

Footsteps of faithfulness, mercy and love,

Looking to Him for the grace freely promised,

Happy, how happy, our journey above.

4. Trying to walk in the steps of the Savior,

Upward, still upward we'll follow our Guide;

When we shall see Him, the King in His beauty,

Happy, how happy, our place at His side.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." James 1:17

"The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." Romans 13:12

Snow Day

Do you see the John Deere tractor in the field behind our house?

Timmy, my cousin, always uses that tractor to clear our driveway after a snowstorm. A green John Deere tractor, driven by a relative or a neighbor, clearing the snow from the driveway has always been a reminder of how important it is for neighbors to help neighbors. We really do need each other.

Memories of my uncle, Eddie Kent, clearing our driveway when I was a kid remind me of the kinds of snow we used to have. Snow that covered everything with a 6-, 8-, or 10-inch heavy white blanket that wouldn't budge for several days, a week, or even longer.

Well, maybe this year we are going to have a winter like the ones we used to have. I don't think I will enjoy it as much as I used to, if we do. There are more things to be considered now that I'm an adult. I'm sure my parents were concerned with the sorts of things that concern me now when the weather turns cold and snowy. Will the power stay on? Will the water freeze? Do we have everything we need? (Will I be able to get to my haircut appointment next week?)

As kids, though, we didn't think about what might happen, we only hoped we would have a snow day. I liked school, but I liked snow days better.

We went to school in the cold and on snowy roads much more often then. I remember Carl, our bus driver, stopping at the end of Spruce Run to take chains off the bus wheels before crossing 460. Sometimes he'd need to stop and put the chains back on before heading down the Run to get us home safely.

Things weren't as scientific in the 1970s. Even though the weathermen were doing their best, the forecasts weren't nearly as accurate then as they are today. If the snow hadn't started before nightfall, school wasn't cancelled. We'd have to wait until the next morning to know if we'd have a day at home.

I remember lying on the den floor, early in the morning, waiting to see Giles County on the closed list. I'm sure we did a little happy dance when we learned we were out of school, and either went back to bed or began our snow day rituals right away.

Snow days meant extra time relaxing in front of the TV, eating snacks, playing board games and cards, and of course bundling up to go outside and play in the snow. We didn't have special snowsuits, so we layered up and headed outside to build a lopsided snowman. We usually gave up on the snowman before he was even a vague likeness of the one we intended when the work began.

Sledding was also a required activity. The runner sleds could be scary and a bit unsafe when we were younger, so we sometimes used pieces of cardboard instead. The cardboard would eventually get wet and not move as well, but for a while it was a fun ride. By the time the cardboard gave out, often before that, we were cold and wet and heading back inside.

Getting ready to go outside took just about as long as we'd want to stay outside. Mom was very patient with us. She probably barely had enough time to straighten up the mess we'd made getting bundled up for our snow day adventures, before we were already opening the door and tramping back into the house.

What a mess it was when we came back inside! Peeling the layers off and getting into dry clothes took a while. Snow would be melting on the floor with a pile of wet clothes to be taken care of before getting a mug of hot chocolate.

Then the hope we would have another snow day tomorrow would begin. It wasn't like today when every type of weather closing is broadcast far and wide on every device all day long. No, back then we had to wait for the 6 o'clock news to begin or until they started scrolling the closings across the bottom of the TV screen.

I've always thought there's something very special about snow days. Yes, we had to make them up later. I even remember going to school on Saturdays a few times. YIKES! But still, for that day or those few days, everything slowed way down. The routine got upended and we got to enjoy the simple pleasures of being at home.

Not much here to inspire or challenge, but maybe a few snow day memories of your own are swirling around in your mind. Fix yourself a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy your own personal snow globe of snow day memories.

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Eddie Kent doing summertime work.

Mom and Eddie Kent

Deidra after playing outside

A snow day nap is a good thing.

Donuts are not a bad idea either.