Greetings, GreenMount Community,
It
was April 12, 1958, long before most of you were born. But I remember the date well. It was the start of the blizzard of ’58, and
it was APRIL! Schools were closed for a
week and the wet, heavy snowfall was nearly impossible to clear from
streets. True, my memory might have
enhanced the facts surrounding this event (I was 14 at the time), but I do know
that everyone was surprised that we had such a significant snowfall in what was
supposed to be spring. I suppose there
was snow on the dogwood blossoms, although this is not something that a 14-year-old
boy notices. All I was interested in was
getting to the hill at Conlon Field, near the Gwynn Oak golf course, with my
sled and braving the steep slope that should have been serving as a natural
bleacher for Little League baseball games that were scheduled for that weekend.
I was not
interested in sitting home playing video games or endlessly texting my friends
about what I was not doing. This is
obvious. But nor was I interested in
sitting home watching our 12-inch, black-and-white TV, selecting one of three
channels which mostly consisted of those early soap operas in their infant
years. Besides, one had to actually get
up from the couch to change the channels.
And as long as I had to move, I might as well have some fun in the snow.
It
sounds like our kids may have that opportunity on Wednesday. Please remember to tune to WBAL-TV to find
out if we are delayed or closed. If you
have not done so yet, now might be a good time to subscribe to WBAL’s automatic
notification of closings for GreenMount.
You can find out how to do that on their web site.
So, if we do get
something significant, get the kids outside and let them get creative with the
snow. They could have a snowman contest
in the neighborhood or play “Top the Snowman” by trying to throw a hat,
Frisbee-style, onto the head of Frosty.
A tug-of-war is always fun in the snow, as is a game of football. You can mark off the boundaries with a spray
bottle with water and food coloring. How about making an obstacle course with
snow mounds? If kids must throw
snowballs, try a game of snowball baseball.
Cans are stacked in a pyramid at each of the bases and each kid stands
on the pitcher’s mound trying to knock over the cans at each base.
Another game
involves tying a white cloth to the
end of a short stick or around the bowl of a wooden spoon. Then, give each
child a chance to hide it by staking it anywhere within a predetermined set of
boundaries. Keep track of how long it takes for the rest of the group to find
it. Whoever hid the flag that takes the longest time to spot wins the game.
Finally, the hill at Greenwood, the Baltimore
County School headquarters on North Charles Street, is a great place for
sledding. But watch out, there is a
nasty gully if you go too far. Teach
your kids the art of bailing out!
I used to be Snow White, but I drifted. – Mae West
Cheers,
Steve
