VOL. XIX, NO. 7
FEBRUARY 17, 1978
Would Winter Without Snow
Make Life Any Better?
Make Life Any Better?
BY STEVE VISTEEN
Did you ever stop to think what life would be like without the benefit of snow? Things would be quite different.
Many of our common customs and practices would be either eliminated or altered. Obviously, the main question would be whether winter would still be referred to as winter. That is a question for the philosophers to ponder, although it is interesting from the layman's point of view, in that the season winter is identified by snow and so many of our wintertime activities are dependent on snow that the lack of snow would pose unusual possibilities.
Since Midwesterners are so conditioned to the presence of snow during the Christmas season, the lack of the icy crystals blanketing the soil would seem quite out of the ordinary. The songs, one of the highlights of the holidays, would really seem strange. For example, can you imagine Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby singing "Ground Ground, Ground," in Brown Christmas or having to explain to the kids that Frosty the Snowman and Suzy Snowflake are dead. The kids would have a rough time at Christmas what with the uselessness of all their snow toys.
Did you ever stop to think what life would be like without the benefit of snow? Things would be quite different.
Many of our common customs and practices would be either eliminated or altered. Obviously, the main question would be whether winter would still be referred to as winter. That is a question for the philosophers to ponder, although it is interesting from the layman's point of view, in that the season winter is identified by snow and so many of our wintertime activities are dependent on snow that the lack of snow would pose unusual possibilities.
Since Midwesterners are so conditioned to the presence of snow during the Christmas season, the lack of the icy crystals blanketing the soil would seem quite out of the ordinary. The songs, one of the highlights of the holidays, would really seem strange. For example, can you imagine Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby singing "Ground Ground, Ground," in Brown Christmas or having to explain to the kids that Frosty the Snowman and Suzy Snowflake are dead. The kids would have a rough time at Christmas what with the uselessness of all their snow toys.
Perhaps the manufacturers of sleds and the like would adapt the toys to the lack of snow and thus provide year round use for the dull brown splendor of South Park Hill.
The job market would be affected in different ways. A wide range of jobs are dependent on snow. Every manufacturer of snow removal equipment would be out on the street with their shovels held on high. All of the jobs at the nearby skiing havens would no longer exist. Those who drive the snow plows would be in search of new employment.
Of course, students would not be immune to the effects of a snowless winter either. The lack of the white powder would bring a tear to the eye of every member of Ski Club and for that matter anyone who enjoys skiing. Those of you who revel in the fine art of auto escapades (that is the thrills realized by rapid acceleration accompanied by spastic revolutions of the steering wheel while in control of an automobile) would certainly find dry pavement very much to their distaste.
Finally, that great feeling that comes when the administration decides to call off school due to an over abundance of snow would truly be missed.
The job market would be affected in different ways. A wide range of jobs are dependent on snow. Every manufacturer of snow removal equipment would be out on the street with their shovels held on high. All of the jobs at the nearby skiing havens would no longer exist. Those who drive the snow plows would be in search of new employment.
Of course, students would not be immune to the effects of a snowless winter either. The lack of the white powder would bring a tear to the eye of every member of Ski Club and for that matter anyone who enjoys skiing. Those of you who revel in the fine art of auto escapades (that is the thrills realized by rapid acceleration accompanied by spastic revolutions of the steering wheel while in control of an automobile) would certainly find dry pavement very much to their distaste.
Finally, that great feeling that comes when the administration decides to call off school due to an over abundance of snow would truly be missed.