Magic missing from this snow day

Many have complained this winter that Southern Illinois doesn't get snow any more. We only get ice that is not pretty and only leads to motor vehicle accidents.

Those wishing for snow now have their wishes fulfilled and in a dramatic way. Thanks. Now I have to walk to work again just like last winter.

But this winter I've been mainly staying at my girlfriend's house which is only two blocks from work so the walk is a minor inconvenience.

I couldn't get a vehicle out of the alley Tuesday so I walked. I walked back from lunch once the ice and sleet became more of a slush and was then able to drive the truck in reverse to the street. But after work with an afternoon's worth of new sleet on the ground I couldn't get up the alley so I drove back to work and walked home.

Wednesday morning, after an additional 5 inches of snow, I was glad I had left the truck at work. It was a lifeline for the household.

A lot of residents were upset their driveways were blocked from snow plowing, but during times like these the most good for the most people is the only option. The situation calls for rugged individualism and tough choices, a return to a survival of the fittest mode. We will rise above our troubles and appreciate what we do have, like the piece of mail that came today containing no name or return address and claims there have been three confirmed cougar sighting in southwestern Hamilton County since 2002. Cougar reports do not halt just because of bad weather.

Incidentally, for all the talk of cougars around these parts the snow provides an excellent opportunity to confirm cougar tracks. Maybe we could settle the big cat controversy once and for all.

Main Street was deserted this morning. Cars were covered with what appeared to be inches of frozen rain and snow. The scene was ghostly. The only sounds were those of tires zipping uselessly and occasional scratching and whacking of scrapers on windows. The town was basically dead.

Throughout the day various vehicles became jammed up in the snow near the office. Traffic gradually compressed the snow on Vine Street. As customers stopped at the paper box the vehicle exhaust melted down a patch of snow to an icy sheen which then caused people to slip as they walked around their vehicles to reach the paper box.

"Slick 'ere," one man said after he slipped and crashed against his truck.

And there was laughter in the sky as the truck drove away. A skein of Canada geese flew over honking and it struck me they were laughing at me and all of us inconvenienced by the winter storm.

It did not greatly help my mood when I got a call from William Hayes of Houston, Texas, who asked about our winter storm here and told me he had just finished mowing his yard.

Children down the street were having a snowball fight. I watched briefly remembering the joy of a snow day from school. But then came the inevitable.

"Stop it, you idiot," one said.

Then there came a cry.

That's the traditional ending to a snowball fight between brothers. One gets hit in the face, either accidentally or on purpose, cries and goes inside to tell mom.

Snowball fights end differently in Greenville, N.C., where they are serious business. Last week at East Carolina University police had to break up a remarkably passionate snowball fight with pepper spray. The officers were not playful sports. One got hit in the back by a snowball, chased down the assailant, tackled him and charged him with assault on a government official and resisting, delaying and obstructing a law enforcement officer.

I'm afraid I'm finding the older a person gets, the less magic he finds in a snow day. If anything, the snow and ice give me a chance to break out my military issue Mickey Mouse boots and stomp around with authority.

-- DeNeal is a staff writer for the Daily Register/Daily Journal. He receives e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.