THREE CAT NIGHT

Like a lot of the country currently, Arkansas is receiving some MUCH colder than normal temperatures. It appears our friends in "The Great White North" -- Canada -- have sent us some bone-chilling temperatures to start us off in 2010.

And just for a moment ... what are we going to start calling this decade ?? Is it -- "two-thousand & ten" ?? Or -- "twenty-ten" ?? For my part, I like the latter. I'm going to call it "20-10".

The people who forecast the weather got it right this time. In our area the TV weather guys said it would be cold & we would have snow flurries. We got both. They also said it is going to get even colder -- like 10 degrees at night & 20's in the day -- for the rest of the week. More snow too. They will probably be right again.

When I lived in Memphis, we used to mock the weather forecasters for their inability to get their predictions right. In the Summer we would say the "forecast" is ... "Two inches of partly cloudy" & in the Winter we would get ... "Four to eight inches of no accumulation". That was usually about how it went, forecast to reality.

Well, it did start to snow yesterday, right on schedule. Very light & sometimes not really noticeable. It was cold, almost freezing, so it did "stick". At least it was not ice or freezing rain. I hate both of those.

This A.M., it was 25 degrees & "white" outside. It had snowed all night, but again, "flurries". Nothing deep or heavy. Just enough to show it CAN snow in the South.

The road in front of my house was covered in snow & very slick. I'm glad I did not have to travel anywhere today.

I am sure the schools were closed. In the South, the THREAT of snow cancels schools, some businesses [none I ever worked for] & sends people on a mad dash to the grocery store to ... "stock up".

I did go out to exercise this morning. About 8 A.M. I bundled up & [mostly] walked my 2.5 mile course. It was VERY slippery & I stayed well on the shoulder of the road, being mindful of any approaching cars or trucks. Luckily, there was little traffic & the few vehicles I saw, were traveling slow & under control, something it often takes drivers in the South a few days to learn, or re-learn, when it snows.

Coming back up my road, I did jog on home -- about a 1/2 mile. For some reason, I had taken off my gloves. For some reason -- STUPIDITY ?? -- I did not put them back on. My knuckles sure were feeling that knifes & daggers hitting my hands. I guess I was adding to the "wind chill", I was running so fast. RIGHT !!

This afternoon, the sun did shine & a lot of the snow/ice has disappeared. The sun is the "snow removal" in the South. There are no plows & only bridges get "salted", or whatever it is they put down to melt the ice. Of course, all the wet spots re-freeze at night -- & they will, with the cold we will continue to get for the next few days -- starting the next day with slick, icy streets & roads again.

The temperature only got to the freezing mark today. Another cold night is due tonight. Well, really, the rest of the week. The Eskimo's call such cold weather, a "Three Dog Night". I have something almost as good -- a "THREE CAT NIGHT". They do put out the warmth.