Repost Snow

Original post on Saturday, January 30, 2010

Snow

Snow is pretty, but only on the surface. After it gets walked on or driven on it starts to get ugly. All the sludge that splatters along the roads just look awful! I am sure I could get used to it..... if I lived where it was more common.

Us Okies don't get much snow most of the time.

I can only remember one time as a kid that there was enough snow to build a snowman. There was probably other times, but since I didn’t get to play in it I guess it didn’t make enough of an impression for me to remember it.

I was living in Turley Childrens Home. I was a young teenager and it was a big deal because we got out of school. SNOW DAY!

I am trying to remember who all was outside playing that day?

My house parents were the Woolards and it was one of the better times when I lived at Turley. My brother and I were living together in the same house again. My little sister was in foster care so she wasn’t there. There was a skinny black boy named Mario. I can’t, for the life of me, think of his last name.

Wow! Memory just hit me!

Mario was outside. He fell and hit his head while crossing the street. Mrs Woolard sent him to get milk at the convenience store. He smacked his forehead on road and came back with a huge goose egg. But the fall was later in the day, after we spent hours playing.

I am really digging around in my head trying to think of who else lived in the cottage at that time?

Leslie Fouler was my roommate but I don’t know if she played that day. She was a few years older than me so we didn’t "hang out" together. She was a good roommate though. Kept quiet and was never mean to me. I knew she wasn’t happy when I was moved into her room. But she chilled out later on when I left her and her stuff alone.

Sorry, back to the snow day.

I know there where other kids from my cottage and some of the other cottages too. I just can’t think who all was there.....

I know I had so much fun. It is the only time I remember playing for hours in the snow as a kid.

I remember Mrs. Woolard would let us come in to get warm. She had hot cocoa for us. She put all of our wet stuff in the dryer while we warmed up and then would send us back out to play. The Childrens Home was on a very big piece of property and I do believe we trampled over most of it that day! There were several snowmen in several spots. We had a huge snowball fight! There were snow angels in any spot that was big enough to make one.

(If you could see me sitting here with my head in my hands, thinking so hard, trying to remember this. It is a good memory and I should remember more of it!)

Ahhh! Robert Ball also lived in our cottage and he was outside that day playing!

It was a good day! I almost gave up and went in several times because I was so cold. My gloves would get wet and my hands would be so numb! I remember my nose and ears hurt from the cold! It was hard to give up and leave everyone else out there having fun!

I wonder what happened to Mario, Leslie and Robert. I used to get into so much trouble for making fun of Robert. I still remember Mrs Woolard telling me "You have no right to ruin someone else’s day with your meanness". That stuck with me and made me realize what I was doing. I tried really hard to not be mean to Robert after that. I would like to know what happened to all of them.

The next time I remember a big snow I was a Senior in High School and living in Broken Arrow with a friend. I wasn’t in the home anymore. I was kicked out of that place the last day of my Junior year.

That will be a story for another day.

I had been on my own for several months and was just managing to keep a place to sleep. I had a black lab named Bocephus and my friend was very gracious to let him stay also. It was another one of those wonderful days called a snow day. Bo and I had a ball playing in the snow. I didn’t play outside near as long and gave up long before Bo was ready to quit playing. I have always wished that I would have played longer. I didn’t know it at the time but Bo had heart worms and he died in his sleep that night. I found him the next morning in the dog house that my friend let him use.

For years I figured that the wonderful snow days were only for kids. Every job I had still expected me to show up.

Then I moved to the Records Department.

Oh Wonderful Snow Days are back! If the City closes because of the weather then I do not have to go to work. I do not have to use any of my vacation time. The city pays me to have the day off!

I really enjoy 3 day weekends!

I will pay for it though. It is the beginning of a new month and at my job that is the busiest time. It also just happens to fall on a Monday. Mondays are the busiest day of the week.

I will worry about that on Monday. I still have 1 more day off to enjoy.

I have remembered another kid from that wonder snow day. His name was Dan. I haven't been able to remember his last name but I remember he was tall, skinny, had blonde hair, wore glasses and has a horrible burn scar on his neck. I wonder if I will think of someone else after I post this?

Sorry this blog has rambled so badly. I didn't edit it much at all.