It really is different here...

I’m dreaming of a White Thanksgiving…wait a minute. This is not a dream! If you’re just joining us here in the Northwest, you need to know that we often have some crazy weather during the week of Thanksgiving. We’ve been snowed in, with and without electric power, and have had a floating bridge sink to the bottom of Lake Washington. Most of us know how to barbecue a Turkey. And eating by candlelight is not just for ambiance.
I thought maybe we should review some advice about how to survive in this place during the late fall and early winter months. I’ve been corresponding with a friend in Chicago who is on her way to work here in a couple of weeks, and I warned her that she should think about getting a hotel close to the place where she will work, just in case it snows. She was surprised to hear that it snows here. People who are from points east are used to snow, so to them it is a fact of life, not a crisis. I remember when I used to think that way.
“I’m from Montana!” I used to brag. And it’s true that knowing how to drive in a cold climate is a valuable skill. But it’s also true that it’s different here. If you think about it, with all of our rain, we have a nice foundation of ice polishing every street before the snow falls. Apolo Ono was raised here, and he was a speed skater before he ever donned a pair of skates! It matters not where you learned to drive, even if you are an ice road trucker or a Yukon mail carrier, that nice underlayment of ice changes everything.
The problem we have in the beautiful Puget Sound is that drivers are not prepared with proper equipment or tires to scale even the slightest hill. Therefore if you approach a hill and there are two or twenty cars spun-out (and most likely abandoned) on the incline, you can’t pass by them even if you have chains.
Those of us who are natives, or who have become legitimate Eastsiders by virtue of having children born here, know that the best course of action is to have a plan. Know the flattest route to work. Carry chains, sand, a shovel, food, a blanket, and water.
News stations can tend to dramatize the slightest hint of snowfall, but if you hear the words “Arctic air” and “Pineapple Express” in the same sentence, stockpile food and start digging for gloves, hats, and boots. Call in “stuck” from work. Enjoy visiting with your neighbors when you walk to the grocery store, or while watching your kids play in the snow.
And it’s not a bad idea to cook your turkey before the windstorm. It really is different here.