White Flakes of Many

I’m still feeling somewhat cheated by the dirth of snowfall in our county. I have to be a tad optimistic though. We do have a Lake Effect Snow Warning for today and tonight. Parts of the county could get a foot sometime today and then another foot of snow tomorrow. Unfortunately, I live in Jamestown where we’ll probably only see a couple inches. When I mentioned to someone I work with that I’m jealous of Buffalo, I think she thought I had gone mad. Well, I’m doing better now as I look at a sea of white swirling in front of my window and the visibility shutting down. I just love bad weather to a degree. At least until it causes fatalities.

Rites of Passage

A friend of mine was recently commenting on how he was looking for the one defining moment in life for himself. He hasn’t had a moment like that yet, and is wondering how he can change his life. At least, that’s seemed to be the jist of his conversation. I think he doesn’t need to be too concerned about that. Those defining moments that you can look back and say, this is the “me before certain event” and the “me after certain event” are not always all they’re cracked up to be. I’ve only had one real, solid defining moment like that and in some ways I wish I hadn’t done it. Then there are the obvious Rites of Passage that you can never go back from. First kiss, first time shagging, Senior Ball, graduating from high school/college, first time (and hopefully only time) you get married, etc. There are some things in my life I had done differently. Then are the things I had no control over that I wish never happened at all like the death of people I knew.

I think if anyone is looking for a defining moment (including my aforementioned friend), and they can’t find a personal moment, then there’s always September 11, 2001. I don’t mean it in a fallback event kind of way, but there’s really no going back there. It just affected too many people and physical geography. In terms of the World Trade Center, the destruction of the towers is like a major landmark being destroyed in each person’s town. At least, that’s how I define the impact of a “remote disaster” for those who live in places like Alaska.