No White Christmas? Good!

Joe Cutter, Townsquare Media NJ

The fine folks at Cornell University tell us there will be no white Christmas this year. See, “White Christmas This Year? Probably Not.”

I don’t know about you, but the memories of last Christmas are far too fresh in my mind, the December 26th storm that buried us, cut short holiday plans and made getting home after Christmas day a nightmare for many around the country? Don’t get me wrong. I’ll borrow a line from an old Tony Bennet song, “I love the winter weather.” I do, really. I also believe in all things in moderation, and last year’s late December/early January snows were anything but, ‘moderate.’

My good friend at Rutgers, Dave Robinson, is the state climatologist for New Jersey. He keeps track of all the weather records, and a nicer guy you will never meet. Dave says he loves snow, and if you are a skier like Dave, you probably agree, “the more the merrier.”

I, on the other hand, have spent more time than I care to remember slip slidin’ along in the worst blizzards Jersey could conjure up for the past 22 years. Believe me, you haven’t lived until you find yourself on the shoulder of I-195 somewhere outside of Imlaystown at 4 am, with snow pounding down so hard you cannot see, front or rear. I have also spent a myriad of nights staying over at this radio station with my colleagues in improvised sleeping quarters while Mother Nature does her damndest outside. 

So yeah, I like snowflakes, a little white to make the season bright. But as my high school Social Studies teacher was fond of saying, “the same fire that cooks your dinner can also burn your house down if it gets out of hand.” The same is true of snow. White coating, nice, pretty, really. 20 to 30 inches?…ugh!

People who see stars in it have never had to push cars in it. Your honor, I rest my case.