Primal man-mode!

So it's January and Dayton is blanketed in the first real snow (read: more than 3mm) of the season. This is a red-letter day for me for two very important reasons. First, I now have the perfect justification for the kick-ass snow thrower I bought last year at winter's end, taking full tactical advantage of seasonal clearance pricing and a bonus floor-model discount. 28" of clearing power, 6-speed motor-driven studded tires, and a full-on blast of testosterone to boot!

Second, and more importantly, I'm learning a little more about myself. How, you ask? (No, I know you didn't really ask -- nor do you care, but it's my blog.) Well, there's something very interesting and enjoyable about these little interruptions to the normal routine. Life is rolling along, business as usual, WHAM! a foot of snow falls out of the sky, and everything changes. Driving is different, schedules are different, all the schools board up their doors, there's a run on toilet paper at DLM, and the whole world seems to get very quiet. The usual ground rules no longer apply. I don't know if anyone else gets the same feeling I do, but I love it when nature hands out a game-changing event. It usually comes with an opportunity to run some power equipment (see above), which is also a plus.

The last time I felt this was in September, when we had our first ever hurricane-in-Ohio. The winds blew something like 370 mph, trees were falling like dominoes, and power was gone all over the city. With all the debris and downed power lines, I couldn't get my car out of the driveway for the first day or two, so obviously work was out. Candles and coolers kept us running for 8 days. I remember strutting around the yard with my work boots and Batman-utility belt: a mini-maglite holstered on one side, a Leatherman tool on the other side. And I had my chainsaw -- Conan the Suburbian!

OK, so no one really wants to live like that all the time, but that's the beauty of it to me. Most of the time I like my hum-drum scheduled existence. But once in a while, it's nice to have a natural excuse to tap into my inner caveman. Bring on the snow!