Friday, December 18, 2009

Let It Snow!

Right now we are under a Winter Storm Warning. Predictions range from 10 to 22 inches depending where you live. While people in Buffalo would take such things in stride, here in northern Virginia, its blizzard conditions to us. We're fascinated by snow. Sure we get some every winter, but is usually small amounts which melt within a day or two. This much snow is a novelty to us. We haven't had a big storm in several years now so we're long overdue. The fact that it is coming on a Friday night after rush hour has quelled the panic somewhat. No morning commutes to fret about. Still Virginians have done their usual grocery store rush to buy mass quantities of bread. milk and toilet paper. The three necessities, apparently, if you're going to be cooped up for a day or two. The snow started about 8:00 tonight and is suppose to continue into Sunday morning. It will compliment the feel of Christmas and look dazzling under every one's lights. Not so good for the merchants who were hoping for a big Saturday and Sunday full of Shoppers rushing to finish their shopping. I can hardly wait to see what our world will look like come tomorrow morning under a blanket of white. Maybe the snow will be still around for Christmas.

Our meeting on the west coast actually ended on time and I was able to switch flights to catch the red eye home. This time we had a wide body 767 instead of the flying tube of a 757. Still the plane was filled to capacity. Every single seat filled. I managed an aisle seat so that wasn't to bad. It was full enough that they were telling the people that were the last to board to forget about overhead bin space and made them check their bags. They didn't look to happy about that, but frankly it would have been chaos and long waits if they didn't do that. Those people would have been opening every bin looking for a space, blocking the aisles and making a nuisance of themselves. At least United didn't make them pay. When I fly, I like to listen to the ATC calls. I heard our flight transferred to Albuquerque, fell asleep in time to hear us transferred to Washing Control. Somehow listening to the co-pilot tell the Air Traffic Controllers "Ta-Ta" as they were handed off as somewhat amusing. Not something they teach in pilot school, I'm sure. I'm glad I manged to switch flights, otherwise I'm not sure I would have gotten home on time or at all. Probably diverted somewhere else due to the snow or the flight cancelled. What fun that would have been. Instead I can relax, lean back and enjoy the beauty of it all.

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