Shannon Costello

I still consider myself from New York, specifically the Hudson Valley.  But I’ve put down roots here as well.

Let me guess that we have five inches of snow outside right now, about five times what we need to close school.  (Hey, I made fun of Newburgh, too.  It’s intended to be taken as friendly ribbing.  As a resident, I’m entitled.)

I got up at 6 this morning and, once I completed my snow day ritual (check the National Weather Service site to build anticipation, check the site of a local radio station to see who may or may not be delayed or closed (it is much more fun to get the big picture), and finally check my school e-mail to read the official announcement) I was seized with a desire to be outside.  So after round one of shovelling I went for a walk.

It was snowing hard.  Our neighbor’s house had that winter postcard look as I stood on the path a few hundred feet away.  From twice as far away the whiteness of the weather obscurred the building’s sharper edges, making the scene a little more remote, a little less friendly.  Walking with my back to their house the snow drove into my face unpleasantly.  When I stopped to look around I had to face a different direction in order to listen in peace to the soft sound of the flakes hitting my jacket.  A couple of geese flew overhead, honking sporadically.  I saw deer tracks.  The stream had tried to freeze over on one side of the bridge, but the water still gurgled along on the other side.  It was quiet, and usually my tracks were the first human prints.  I think the Hudson Valley part of me misses seeing snowfalls like this more often.

But like I said, I like it here, too.  I see that the Sidwell Friends School is closed today and I really, really hope no one tries to get any Important Political Type from Illinois to compare what I see outside to the type of storm it must take to shut down Chicago.   We don’t see five inches of snow very often, and so yes, we do handle it awkwardly.  But that characterization of us doesn’t quite feel like friendly ribbing when it’s plastered all over national headlines.  It’s just embarrassing!   So don’t anybody ask him about it, ok?