Mom has been over in the chair next to me, disparaging Portland's tendency to freak out when it snows. Ok, so she has a reason to disparage - her doctor called and cancelled her follow-up appointment for today at 2:00 because a snowstorm has been predicted for this afternoon (actual line from the conversation - "How's your bandage doing" "It's starting to come apart" "Well, abdominal bandages do that - don't worry about it".)
Don't worry about her, everyone - the doctor was very careful to check, and she hasn't been running a fever, her drainage is almost non-existent, she's been able to get up and around a bit more - she's doing ok, and she has another follow-up scheduled for Monday. But being a Utahn, she doesn't realize how the sight of white, flake stuff fascinates and appalls us here.
It only happens once or twice a year at most - some years we get zero snow at all. In fact, we even have a website - isitsnowinginpdx.com (it's currently wrong, but still...) And this particular snow event is supposed to be a doozy - it's coming up from the south, and there's already been a 20-car pileup down between Albany and Salem. Plus, Portland snow is just weird. The wind effects from the Gorge are currently making the snow outside my window fall up.
But more importantly - we know how to act when it snows. First, the night before, you stock up on toilet paper, milk and bread. Second, while the freeways may be clear, you don't stand a chance of making it to the freeways unless you live on a main artery, so you stay off the road (and you make fun of the idiots who are sliding down the hill in their car.) Third, you have to appreciate it while it's here. Being Portland, it never stays around - by Sunday, it'll be raining again.
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