Blizzards, storms, must be spring
A long, long time ago at least in the minds of our kids and grandkids, I attended what was then Kearney State College (KSC), now UNK. That was in the early 1970s. I received a comprehensive major in journalism. But getting that degree was not simple. I attended college before the American Disabilities Act (ADA) that set parameters for making places handicap accessible.
The college was certainly not accessible. The administration building had no elevator and other students carried my wheelchair up and down the long staircases when I had classes upstairs in that building. Once I was even left upstairs in the administration building at the end of a day after tests when everyone else had gone. (A friend came up the stairs to find someone, found me instead and got assistance to get me carried back downstairs.) This was the college that promised to make sure I got to my classes. (I have other stories and was very thankful for friends, even strangers who assisted me in getting to and from classes.)
Winter was the worst. Maintenance only scooped a path down the sidewalk for one to walk. Certainly not wide enough for even my small wheelchair. As for weather, back then, because most students lived on campus, KSC never closed down for rain, storms nor blizzards.
I was already at the college for classes when a blizzard hit. Visibility went to almost zero. Snow fell like a curtain and quickly covered lawns, walks, and roadways. My wheelchair was going no place. I was stuck at the Student Union. The storm was so bad, that students not living on campus were allowed to head home. Good luck! A friend offered to take me home. She probably had help getting me to her car. Driving meant inching along, trying to see even the roadway much less any other cars on the road. I prayed.
We never made it to my home. Hers was closer. Too dangerous to go further. Even her little dog refused to go out to take care of business. My friend was kind, even though she had to help me with some personal needs. I spent most of the day at her house until a break in the storm and the resumption of phone service brought my brother to pick me up and get me home.
Back then a blizzard meant lots of snow, high winds and next to no visibility. It meant not daring to go outside for fear of getting lost or freezing. This year meteorologists have called two blizzards recently. I don’t think either one was more than a bad storm, but certainly not a blizzard.
It is probably a good thing offices, schools and many businesses are closed down in bad weather. I just wonder if we’d become too willing to close things down when the weather isn’t to our liking. No one likes winter storms when most have been counting on spring and warm weather. But winter doesn’t like to let up and has manifested itself with real, serious blizzards clear into May.
Winter storms are a fact of life in Nebraska. Maybe we should be more willing to deal with such weather and not shut everything down until we are truly dealing with serious storms and an actual blizzard. I am not talking about exposing life and limb to dangerous weather conditions, but just maybe we should also not consider every snowfall dangerous or every storm a blizzard.
Whatever the terms used for Nebraska storms, they provide much needed moisture and for that we can give thanks.
© 2024 Carolyn R Scheidies
Kearney Hub column 2024 April 11
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