Snow Foolin'

With another winter storm about to pummel the area, last night's local TV news folks were, as usual, devoting a major portion of the broadcasts to what could happen. The bottom line for this particular storm, however, seems to be that it will stay pretty much south of the New York metro area. In fact, it appears that only the southernmost part of New Jersey, which is closer to the Philadelphia metro area than New York's, is going to be hard hit. Current forecasts for NYC and Long Island range from 2 inches to 8 inches, and that varies depending on which radio or TV station you want to believe.

One of the local stations last night had a reporter standing outside a Wal-Mart in south Jersey, interviewing people who were coming out of the store is baskets filled with food and other "necessities." One woman had two overflowing carts, with dozens of eggs and gallons of milk among her purchases. It made me wonder just how big a family she has... and how long she expects to be cut off from civilization. Certainly, with what she had in the carts, they can eat for weeks without having to resort to cannibalism.

Another report showed people lined up at a Redbox DVD machine, loading up on movies to watch. One can only hope that their power doesn't go out while they are buried under the mountains of snow. DVDs don't play that well on a candle.

With each of the reports, we got a preview of which poor reporter we will be seeing tonight standing out in the snowstorm. That has always been one of the oddities of these weather events. If you look out the window, you can see the pouring rain, the driving snow, the gusting winds. Why does someone -- actually more than just one person since there must also be someone holding the camera -- have to be standing out in the middle of it? And how does that person get chosen? Short straw? Lack of seniority? Or just a great desire to be cold and wet?

I'd like to write more, but I should probably go out now and buy six loaves of bread, eight gallons of milk, nine dozen eggs and other necessities. And rent ten or twelve DVDs. I'd get more, but Laurie is out of town at a conference, so I need only to get enough for myself.