The Shining

Left Chicago early yesterday with a predicted blizzard hot on our heels. Not for Chicago. For Cincinnati.

People go nuts here when more than an inch of snow is predicted. Schools cancel on the possibility, offices close, road crews sit and wait at intersections. The promise of a blizzard was sure to wreak havoc among the natives and we wanted to be home before they closed the roads.

The streets were deserted when we slid into town; every business closed, street lights changing for no one. TV coverage was non-stop. Everything from inch by inch updates to tips on how to survive being housebound.

I think Cincinnati expected something out of Stephen King novel. Families housebound in the 'burbs for days until someone finally cracks and gets out the chainsaw.

Fourteen inches of snow have fallen. That's a lot of snow. Hardly a blizzard though. No massive drifts, no power lines drooping under the weight of ice.

Kevin was so disappointed. It's not nice to taunt a weather lover with a kick-ass blizzard and then deliver a limp wristed version.

He's been playing telephone tag today with the other housebound boys. And half heartedly hoping an emergency would give him permission to take a long winding route to the plant instead of the usual walk down the road.