Favorite snowy memories

I guess I'm old because now I hate snow. I don't care how pretty it is. My favorite snowy memories are well in the past, because the memories created in the past couple days of shoveling first my driveway and then all the walkways around my office building are ones that hopefully will not stick with me.

Now this isn't one of those "walk uphill both ways to school in the snow" stories, but if you grew up around here in the 70s and 80s, you know this stuff we've been getting lately is just wimpy.

(In my best old-man-voice): Why, in MY day, we had snow drifts as high as houses and the normal snow on the ground would come to my hips!

Of course, the snow may have appeared twice as deep because I was half as tall.

Sledding down Quinton Heights hill is of course the greatest memory ever. Funny how much I used to love that but now am nervous about letting my own kids do it. Then again, my parents let me walk from our house to White Lakes Mall when I was the age my daughter is now and we don't hardly let her out of our sight.

How did we get to be such a generation of nervous ninnies? I think it's because of too much news coverage -- too much REALITY! Kids getting hurt, maimed, molested, kidnapped...and we sometimes know about it right after it happens when the Amber Alert hits the airwaves.

My second favorite snowy memory involves my dog Rascal. He was a beagle/German Shepherd mix -- and strong as an ox. One time we were planting a tree in the front yard, so we chained him to a cinder block in the backyard with a log chain. It wasn't long before he came running around the house dragging that cinder block behind him.

Anyway, the greatest dog that ever lived would pull me around on my sled on snowy days. I was probably eight, so I probably didn't weigh more than 50 lbs, but he was an impressive creature regardless. He was beagle-sized! Let's see any other beagle do that!

Enjoy your snow people! I might just get out there today and try to give my kids some good memories of their own.