Snow in Alabama!

The first day of March sure came in like a lion. It was actually SNOWING here in Tuscaloosa when I awoke at 4:00 a.m. As the saying goes, now March will exit like a lamb. This brings to mind my years in elementary school. My grade school was located on the west end of Lockport, NY. This was where the Italian population lived. Back in those idyllic days, the school would sponsor a “Spaghetti Supper” that raised money for field trips for the older grades.

There was so much excitement for that event. The school had no formal cafeteria. There was a primitive kitchen set up though with one of those huge industrial gas stoves. For days the school would smell of homemade spaghetti sauce cooking down. The PTA sponsored bake sales and a “white elephant sale” to entice parents to spend a bit more money while waiting to get seated. A “fishing pond” was set up for the kids. For 10¢ you lowered a fishing pole over the bottom section of a double dutch door and a treasure was put on the line. Marty’s mom always took care of this!

There were two classes for each of the grades: kindergarten-sixth grade. The classes were evenly divided as the “lions” and “lambs” to sell tickets to this dinner. There was an intense rivalry between these groups. My third grade class was the top ticket seller for the school. I will never forget going door to door trying to sell tickets to this supper without any success. I felt like such a loser compared to the kids who turned in the money for scores of sold tickets. What did they do that I didn’t? It was years later I learned it was their parents who sold the tickets for them. For my entire working life I had to put up with co-workers selling everything under the sun for their kids. I always felt a resentment getting something from them thinking there might be some kid like me trying to sell that crap on his own. Just chalk it up to a formative growing up experience!


Saturday morning I kept hearing a motor turning on and then off. At first I thought it was the fan in my computer tower. Nope, it was not that, nor the ice box, or the water heater. Finally I traced it back to the basement. The five inches of rain caused water seepage, it was my sump pump! Normally it only functions when the air conditioner is running as it drains into the sump hole. I can’t remember the last time water had leaked into the cellar in this fashion.

The dinner Saturday night went wonderfully. It was a dank chilly evening which made the home cooked “stick to your ribs” food taste even better. The lamb shanks were warmed through after I baked up two pans of cornbread sticks. I had it timed just perfect to where I smashed up the potatoes just as the first guests arrived. There must have been about four pounds of tiny red creamer’s boiled in water/garlic and mashed with a stick and a half of real butter, salt and pepper.

For my vegetable I settled on tiny green peas. Publix had a buy one get one free deal. These I steamed up and mixed in a half stick of butter when it was put into the serving dish. Butter makes everything taste better! The guys raved on those peas!!!

I had to take pictures of the snow soon as I got up thinking it would soon melt away.



Boy was I ever wrong. It is 9:31 a.m. and it is STILL snowing!! This picture I just snapped from the bathroom window looking into the back yard.


Our rowing session for this afternoon was cancelled last night. Not because of the anticipated snow. The downpour of the past few days caused flooding on the river, which in turn messed up the “floating docks” we launch from. I just hope it will not be too much work to get them back into shape.