Rant #2,553: I'm (Not) Dreaming of a White (Hanukkah) Christmas

 

… So now, to add insult to injury, we are supposed to be getting a major snowstorm later today and into Thursday morning.

 
Just what we all need, right?
 
Weather forecasters have told us that in my part of the world, we could get anywhere from about five inches to a foot of snow, and if certain conditions fit just right, we could get even more of the white stuff.
 
Last year, our total accumulation in these parts was slightly less than seven inches of snow.
 
We might exceed that in one fell swoop this evening and into tomorrow … and it isn’t even officially winter yet.
 
“Will such a snow hamper delivery and distribution of the pandemic vaccine?”
 
That is the question that a lot of people are asking, and even though I am not a transportation or logistics expert, my answer would be pretty simple:
 
“If the snow reaches its peak accumulation, how could it not?”
 
I hate snow, really abhor it.
 
As a kid, just like any other kid, I absolutely adored it.
 
“Snow” meant so many things to me back then.
 
It meant fun; I mean, just think of the snowball fights and the sledding possibilities when we would get a really good snow.
 
And then there was school.
 
Even though back then the New York City school system never, ever closed down for any reason, we always thought that the coming of snow at least gave us the possibility of school closures.
 
I think that as a kid, it happened maybe once or twice in my entire schooling in the city, but at least we could dream about it, even if it rarely happened.
 
Now, all that the snow represents to me is another hurdle to jump over, or shovel out of, and I hate to shovel snow, but it is something that I am going to have to do if we get a major accumulation.
 
And how good can it be for kids if we get a major snowfall?
 
They can’t think of school being closed, because they can still go to school … remotely, of course, so they can’t even think for a moment that the snow is going to give them a snow day.
 
There is no such thing anymore, is there?
 
What a waste this snowstorm will be this time around for everyone involved.
 
Maybe the only ones who will still think it is so wonderful for the snowflakes to come down will be little kids, who are too young for school but just the right age to enjoy the white stuff at the same time as their parents cringe at the thought.
 
I guess the sanitation and third-party companies who clean away snow will love it too, as their overtime pay will go through the roof as they clean our roads.
 
I guess the owners of supermarkets will love it too, because everyone will scamper to their local market to get bread, milk and eggs.
 
But their employees will hate it, because they somehow have to come into work through all of this mess.
 
No, I never dream of a white Hanukkah, but that is evidently what we are going to get if the forecasters are correct.
 
As the holiday wears down, and the menorah gets lit, more snow will fall, and believe me, I don’t look at that as a miracle at all.
 
A miracle right now is that the accumulation isn’t as bad as predicted.
 
So as my family and I light the next to last Hanukkah candle this year, I pray for that type of miracle.
 
I can dream, can’t I?