S now changes our vocabulary and sends writers into Wonderlands of images, metaphors and analogies. Generally, though, we treat snow as an unwanted nuisance. Some perceive snowstorms in military language. Richmond was under siege with at least 11 inches of paralyzing snow for a day. Of course, when National Guardsmen are called upon to help with snow removal and traffic control, the military atmosphere is enhanced.
Snow is an enemy to the human heart, too.
One of our delivery men told me he spent only one half-hour shoveling snow because he'd heard from a mutual friend about two neighbors, contemporaries about his age, who'd suffered heart attacks after shoveling snow. I remembered that during my freshman year of college the president of the school had suffered a heart attack and died after helping shovel out a neighbor's car. B ut there's an alluring side to snow as well, and I don't simply mean its attraction for winter sports enthusiasts. There's something philosophical and meditative about falling snow. I watched our cat at the height of the storm.