Random Thoughts and Thanks from the Blizzard of 2016

We got our first snowstorm of the year, and it was a doozy. It led to a sort of do-nothing day (well, not sort of), and so I just thought I’d share some random thoughts I’ve had during the day.

• I learned a new word today, graupel, thanks to Adam Joseph of 6 ABC Action News in Philadelphia. Here’s the definition from Wikipedia: also called soft hail, snow pellets or “Grail” is precipitation that forms when supercooled droplets of water are collected and freeze on a falling snowflake, forming a 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) ball of rime. My goal is to now slip the word into my conversation within the next 48 hours.
• I realized I could watch storm weather-related news all day long (and I did). Thanks again to 6ABC.
• Today gave further validation to our goal of moving to Florida in eight years. Sarasota here we come!
• I wish I had pursued what the Kuder Occupational Career Interest survey had ranked as my top career choice when I took the test back in high school – Meteorology. I must admit I am a bit jealous of all the meteorologists on TV. I was an Economics major in college, but there was an elective course in Meteorology, so I thought it would be the perfect elective. Well, as it turned out, it was the only “C” I got in college. I’m not sure I would have even gotten accepted into a meteorology program – it seems like a head shot must be part of the application. I’ve yet to see an unattractive weatherperson on TV, and I’m not sure I would have been able to be the first one to break through such a barrier.
• You gotta love Wawa. It seems like every TV reporter out in the field was based out of a Wawa parking lot. And it seemed like every Wawa was open, one of the few businesses that was. Thank you to all of those Wawa employees!
• Thank you also to the snow plow drivers who venture out in this nasty weather and work incredibly long shifts to help clear the roads and parking lots. But I wouldn’t mind it if you forgot about Villanova University for a couple of days…
• Thank you to Kindle for making it so easy to download a new book in just a matter of seconds, no matter what the weather. I decided to read Tom Sawyer, and then Huckleberry Finn.
• Thank you to FloBeds for making such a great bed, not only for sleeping, but for reading in on a snowy day.
• And last, but certainly not least, thank you to my wife for doing all of the shoveling!