I’m sure those of you outside of New England are sick to death of the ongoing saga of the blizzard of 2015, or “Juno” as the Weather Channel has deemed it. You’re not alone; I’m about done with this nonsense. The hype surrounding a big storm is so amusing. It’s what these meteorologists live for; they can’t wait to get to the affected area and be shown on TV in ridiculously dangerous situations for nothing more than a sound bite. And they discuss the past storms, and where this one ranks with those that have come before. What they forget is that we have better communication, better equipment and better materials than we’ve had in the past, and those who’ve lived through the bad ones pretty much know better than to mess around with Mother Nature.

We’d stocked up on essentials. Beer, I recall, was high on the list.

I remember the Blizzard of ’78. I was a college student living in an apartment on Queensbury Street in Boston’s Back Bay. The power died. Against all advice we heated the small 2 bedroom flat with the gas oven, burned candles, and were terrified someone would set the block on fire when there was no way in hell a fire engine could ever get to us. Our friend Geddes lived across the street. He was the first person I knew who kept snakes as pets. They didn’t do well in cold temperatures, and I recall sitting in his kitchen with a rat snake and a corn snake each curled up in a sleeve of my shearling coat (while I was still wearing it) happy to partake of my body heat. We knew a storm was coming. We’d stocked up on essentials. Beer, I recall, was high on the list. But we never realized it was going to be that bad and last that long. Cabin fever reached new heights.

Fast forward to today. Yes, I know Metro NY has its knickers in a twist over not getting the forecasted amount, but wouldn’t you rather be safe than sorry? We in New England did get the forecasted 24 inches, and the Blizzard of 2015 ranks as the 6th of these major storms since they’ve been keeping records. IT SNOWED FOR 36 HOURS. ENOUGH ALREADY.

Before and After

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The snow covers all the crap in the back yard of the abandoned house next door. A plus in my book.

We did not lose power. Our generator was ready, but we caught a break. We did wake up thinking we were in Varykino. For those who don’t know it or remember it, Varykino is the summer home Dr. Zhivago* flees to in the Ural Mountains to escape the Russian Revolution. But he is there in winter. And everything, including the windows and woodwork, is iced over. We were warm, but could not see out of any of the windows on three sides of the house. The drifts were crazy and the winds were gusting to 50+ MPH. This is what it looked like: Video of Storm

The place on the corner we frequent for breakfast, Simmy’s, lost their awning in the storm. Our street wasn’t plowed for 48 hours. And they only plowed one lane. It took us multiple tries to uncover a fire hydrant on the corner, because every time we tried the plow would come by and plow it back in.

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Was it beautiful the day after? Yes. The dogs across the street were having fun. It was nice to be outside for a while when the sun came out, even though it was bitterly cold. But now I want to hunker down on the couch again with a blanket, watch movies and eat things.

When the hell are we leaving for Mexico?

Deborah

* Dr. Zhivago is one of the best movies of all time. See it if you haven’t. You will cry. And you will be cold.