Half of a Snowball

A half of a snowball doesn't make sense. Neither does half of a snowball fight. When you talk snow, you've got to give it your all!

That's a wacky introduction to my current displeasure: when it comes to snow, JMU goes half-day all the time. I'm okay with tempering a reaction to snow; I grew up in Indiana, where if we got 3 inches overnight, there might be a 2-h delay. And, despite living in Maryland and Alabama (where people, understandably, get a little freaked out by snow and where they don't have adequate snow removal systems), I don't think that school/work should be cancelled for a bit of snow (when the roads are okay).

During this winter, though, JMU's cancellation/delay system has been grating on my nerves. After an evening of snow, they'll post an hour delay (while all other school systems have 3-h delays or have cancelled). Today, there was a bunch of ice by 6 a.m. and a huge winter storm was moving in. Based on the ice and the incoming storm (due to hit at noon), all school systems (elementary, secondary, college) cancelled classes....except for JMU!

I went to the Arboretum for work, and sleet/ice started coming down at 11 a.m. Around noon, the snow started falling, rather thickly. By 1 p.m., my coworker and I were pretty concerned. The Arboretum's groundskeepers had been at a conference, so no one else had salted our parking lot. To drive out of the parking lot, you have to go up a steeply graded curve, and we were concerned that, with more snow, we would be stranded. However, my coworker told me to head home (and she got home safely too!) at 1:15 p.m. A few minutes after I left, JMU finally gave the cancellation call--the university would close at 2:15 p.m. But it was already too little, much too late.

When I pulled out of the Arboretum (only one fishtail--yay!), I went in the opposite direction than normal because of the wreck that had already occurred. I could see the wreck (it was on the north side of the Arboretum), so I thought I'd be smart. Bad choice. I drove for about 30 seconds when I saw a car at the bottom of a 15-ft ditch (driver was unhurt). The Arboretum is on the edge of JMU's campus, and there's really only one street that allows people on that side of campus to reach the main roads. I was trapped on this slippery road, along with the half of campus that had just read the cancellation announcement, seen how wretched the roads were, and headed out to get home. I turned around and went my usual direction. My entire drive home (which usually takes 10 minutes) took 45 minutes and I passed several other wrecks (no one looked hurt). But the roads were absolutely shoddy, and JMU waited too darn long to call a cancellation.

Also, when I was nearly home, going up one of the big hills in our neighborhood, I noticed the front car was slipping and sliding. There were four cars in front of me, and the first car ended up just stopping; it's wheels couldn't get any traction and it couldn't move. After about 20 second, the two guys in the 3rd and 4th car got out and went up to push. They still were struggling after about 30 seconds, so I got out and helped with the far right side of the vehicle. It worked---but not without a major casualty: my jeans got sleet, ice, grime, etc spackled onto them. And I don't even know who the driver was that I helped! Anyway, I was a bit upset that driver #2 (a young male) didn't try to help...but whatever.

Adam had to also go on several detours, but (with a little luck) he also got home safely. It's been snowing steadily since noon and should continue until midnight. I'm REALLY hoping for a full-length snow day tomorrow (even though I'll have to move things around on my syllabus). However, I'm pretty darn sure that JMU is going to one-hour delay me or not even have a delay. Prove me wrong, JMU; prove me wrong!!!

Full snow day, please????