The October Snow of 2011

Friday, grey clouds gathered overhead as we walked to dinner from the science center. The talk was of snow – October snow! I don’t think I’ve seen it snow here in October for as long as I can remember. Snow before Thanksgiving is pretty rare by itself, but before Halloween?

Dinner was Chicken Parm subs at the Trattoria down the road as Daniel and I ate with Mary and Andrew. Pretty much our usual for Friday nights, except for the extra company.

Saturday, rain was coming down as I left for work, a few minutes late out the door – cold rain. I had left my umbrella in the car and was cursing, thinking of driving to work instead of taking the bus. Still, I didn’t want to leave a good parking place and waste gas, so I walked to the bus stop and opened the Circulator website on my phone. “No times listed,” the site said. Standing out in the rain, already sick with a minor cold, I was a bit pissed off.

I jogged around the corner and hopped into my car, cranking the heat up as soon as I thought the car was mildly warmed up, and drove to work. They might be getting snow out in the suburbs, but in the city it looked like it was hovering around 35 F, just warm enough to prevent it.

Later, as I left the Science Center to head to subway, things were different. The rain had been replaced by hail that pelted off my umbrella. As I ate my sandwich and stared out the window, it turned to flakes and, for certain, we had our first snow of the season. Or should I say last snow of the season? Perhaps autumn had officially turned to Winter a month and a half early.

I read some of the Belgariad and finished my sandwich, then walked back to work as the wintry wind cut through my hoodie. It could be a long winter ahead, I thought.