Weekend Snow; Winter Rant

It is a quiet Sunday morning in the Ozarks. Many church services have been cancelled today because cancelling church services and other activities is what we do in the Ozarks whenever there is a little bit of snow on the roads.

On one hand, it doesn't bother me that there are so many cancellations due to winter weather. On the other hand, we have become a bunch of weenies. To be fair, maybe Southwest Missourians have always been weenies. Having grown up in Central Illinois and lived in both Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa, making cancellations the norm for a couple of months of the year is a little bit ridiculous.

Certainly personal responsibility and personal limitations need to be recognized, and some common sense needs to be exercised. But when events are cancelled because some people that shouldn't be out will try to come anyways...really?

So it's not safe to be on the roads to go to church today, huh? My guess is that the gas station next to the church will be open and people will be there. I'd bet the restaurants will be open and some of your church people will be out to eat today. People will be going to work today. People will be going to the grocery stores, going to friends' homes and going out to play. You might not want to be out. You might not need to be out. If you think it's too dangerous for you to be out, stay in. But in general, it's not too dangerous to be out.

I know that there are other factors in play. I know that churches and businesses worry about liability issues if they can't get their lots cleared and their walkways are slick. We think that we have to make decisions for others because they may make bad decisions about their personal limitations. But let's face it, we're winter weenies.

Personally, I'm enough of a winter weenie that I'd leave it all behind and move to a sunny beach if I could convince my wife to move with me! But while I'm here, I'll go out if I need to or even if I want to. If I had to be at work today, I'd be there. Fortunately, I don't. Somebody else can talk to the snowplows and snow blowers as they clear the runways and taxiways!

Okay. Rant is over.
I need to get dressed to go out and get Chris her fountain soda fix! I'm way more afraid of her without a soda than I am afraid of driving in the winter weather!

John <><