Blizzard Mania
We knew it was coming…the bustling supermarkets and gas stations were nothing like the boisterous winds that circled from southwest to northeast. A blizzard was coming!
On February 23, the Blizzard of ‘26 dropped two to three feet of snow on southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. White out conditions brought horizontally blowing snow. It was not your average snow storm. New England utilities reported 497,000 people without power. Businesses and schools closed for several days. Public works departments blew through their thin budgets, working almost non-stop to clear roads. After this monumental nor’easter, I checked in with five Sippizine contributors to see how they fared.
From Point Independence in Onset, Jackson Gillman mourned the passing of neighborhood woody friends, including a walnut tree he planted 25 years ago. Without electricity for more than 48 hours, a wood stove warmed the kitchen as they moved last summer’s frozen berries into coolers outdoors. Daily routines became raking the roof, shoveling, more shoveling plus clearing dog relief paths.
Lilo reported that doing dishes with lukewarm water outdoors takes longer than you’d think. After 36 hours without power, they were “reduced to a whimpering mess begging for a bowel movement and shower. My greatest disappointment is that I did not use this time fruitfully!”
The Mattapoisett Free Public Library was closed all week, due to an electrical pole down, no parking, and no internet. Adult Services Librarian and Sippizine contributor Amanda Lawrence found time to write and to shovel. With no generator at home, writing by candlelight reminded her of “...the great novelists of yore. It probably reads like a fever dream, too.”
In New Bedford, Dawn Blake Souza faced three feet of snow with amazement and family (be sure to read her blog post coming up in a few days).
Midori Evans clearly observed the blizzard with her photographic eye.
For your Sippizine publisher, the blizzard felt like a cozy way to avoid reality.
We recently welcomed an East Boston street cat into our home who enjoys domestic life. The two of us watched the fireplace flicker and the landscape disappear.
As the windows crystallized with whipping wet snow, guilt about not being more productive started to kick in. That demon often haunts me, but a blizzard snow day, actually two days, beat down that fiend. Snowshoes helped us get out of the house and check on neighbors. The snow was so heavy and so deep, the usual plow truck couldn’t push the piles.
Each of the Sippizine contributors remarked on the moments of isolation and appreciation of their community that the blizzard left behind. Fortunately, meteorologists warned of the storm’s intensity and residents of southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island took it seriously.
I’m curious to see if Blizzard of ‘26 submissions come in for the next issue of Sippizine - after all, the theme is “Lucky.”
