by Peggy Robin
It finally stopped snowing at seven pm but nothing has stuck to the walkway or the street. Nothing to shovel, and I think I know why. It’s because I was so well prepared for this snowfall. Here’s how it works: If I read in the weather report that we’re expecting one to three inches, and I check to make sure I have ice-melting or traction-producing substances at hand, and I also see that the pantry is well-stocked with necessities, then by the time the snowfall is over, the amount will be less than was predicted, and all my preparedness will have been unneeded.
Now, suppose for some reason that I had pooh-poohed the weather report and declined to make any preparations for snow – and also suppose that tomorrow wasn’t Sunday but a work day with some essential appointment: That would all but guarantee three times the amount of snow as originally forecast.
Of course, you probably did not realize that the amount of snowfall is inversely proportional to my ability to deal with it….because you thought it was all on YOU! And you are right! There’s a Murphy’s Law of Snow that is waiting to catch us, and somehow it manages to work individually and collectively at the same time. You will see the effect the next time you have some flight that you really, really need to be on, or you have to be able to drive somewhere, and you tell yourself, “Oh, it’s just a dusting on the way….” That’s when it will keep on snowing and snowing all day, accumulating until there’s twenty inches on the ground. Don’t say you weren’t warned!
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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.
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