SNOW DAYS

SNOW DAYS

Val @ http://unbaggingthecats.blogspot.com/2015/11/let-record-show-that-val-is-ready-for.html  posted recently about snow and snow days.  Val is a teacher preparing to be a basket maker after this school year ends.  It is interesting hearing about snow days from a teacher’s point of view.  I always assumed teachers didn’t like snow days.  I thought they missed the chance at their daily being mean, and particularly hated that some kids got away with not finishing their homework, or being prepared for a test.  Apparently, according to Val, teachers also like the surprise day off, and many teachers are human like the rest of us.

Interesting, who knew?

For me snow days were the best.  Back in the day when school districts weren’t afraid of law suits from people who suffered accidents trying to get to school in a blizzard, it took a real big storm to cancel school.  Today it seems they call off school if the weather report predicts a dusting.

In the fifties and sixties in the North East, school was not called off until there was at least eight to ten inches on the ground and more to come.  Sometimes even that was not enough snow to have a cancellation.

For us kids, the anxious anticipation started the night before the snow hit hard.  The weather dude was calling for a big one, no sense studying for that Bio test.  Around ten at night the snow started to fall and you went to sleep with visions of snow fights and sledding in your future.

At six am you awoke to ten inches of snow glistening in the now bright morning sun.  “Ten inches? Crap, that is border line; they were calling for 18 inches with the storm continuing until the afternoon.”

Now panic set in… “I should have studied for that test… friggin weather dude.”

Too late now, just had to turn on the radio and listen to closings and pray.  The station was WOR, “Rambling with Gambling,” a show that spanned several generations of Gambling’s, but was only listened to by anyone under the age of 17 to hear school closing announcements.  We had no internet, and no telephone call system, school closings were only announced on the radio.  

It seemed like forever before they announced your school, and they never said if your school was opened, only if it was closed, so without definitively hearing your school called there was always some hope.  You listened intently so as not to miss your school.

“And now the school closings… Don Bosco, Westbury, Perth Amboy…”

Fucking Don Bosco, they were always the first announced and they closed if it smelled like snow.  I have since learned that Don Bosco is on top of a large hill, they always get more snow, our rain is their ice, and the hill is never plowed or sanded in time for school.  Regardless, we always thought that Don Bosco was a bunch of sissies.

“Plainfield, Scotch Plains, Clark…” The announcements came in no order, I guess just as they were called in.  Our school, Westfield often was not called.  In some ways we were proud that our district was tough and didn’t just close at any old snowstorm, in most ways we wanted to go to Don Bosco.

“Berkley Heights, Rahway, Dunellen, Metuchen, East Brunswick…”

Fuck, maybe I can study on the way to school.  “Edison, Elizabeth, Bethpage, New York Schools are all open on a regular schedule, Cranford…”

New York City was the only system to announce they were open, but hell, they NEVER EVER closed, they say the subways always ran, so their being open didn’t mean a thing.

“Come on Westfield, and no delayed open, come on closed.”

“Avenel, Summit, WESTFIELD…”

That’s it, radio off and the phone immediately rang. 

“Yes, I heard it! See you in ten minutes, grab your shovel, we can make some money before we go sledding!”

Studying for the Bio test can wait.  Maybe they will be closed for two days, it did happen once. 

Of course snow days meant extra school days in June, but June days were easy, nobody scheduled anything in June, even the teachers are tired of school by June.