Help! I am snowed in today…..and probably tomorrow. I am stuck here. Stranded. Trapped. Being held hostage here in my house…..by a relentless snow storm which has given us a gift of more than a foot of snow. Outside it is a Winter Wonderland created by Mother Nature….or a mean Mother-in-Law Nature, gleefully chuckling over her wicked work.

If you live out in the country like I do, most of what I have to say is going to sound familiar. You have experienced it….lived through it…..and hopefully, survived. However, if you live in a city or a town, maybe you will think I am complaining (which I suppose I am) or exaggerating. Or maybe you will think I am some sort of wimp or sissy who can’t cope with life. If you think this….man, you are wrong.

We people who live in rural areas…on hilly, gravel roads….miles from a paved road…..well….we’re tough….and we are adaptable. Because we have to be. We can’t put on our snow boots and walk a couple blocks to the grocery store….or the post office….or the gym to mess around for the afternoon. In town, most people have cable TV. It is largely not affected by the tribulations of weather…..such as snow and rain and clouds. Those things do not prevent the signal from flowing through the cable directly to the TV.  No….you do not have to climb up a ladder with a broom to sweep the snow off the satellite dish.

If we are lucky, the electricity does not go out and the water pipes do not freeze. But…something like this is going to happen, you can bet that it will happen first to us hardy people who live in the country. That is why many of us have wood stoves….and portable electric generators. We would make good Boy Scouts. You know: Be Prepared!

If I had a horse, I could ride it into town. Although let’s face it: I am probably too kind to make the poor horse get out into the cold weather. A snow mobile would come in handy at times like these. But, alas….I do not have a snow mobile. Even a small Caterpillar, my own snow plow….or any tracked vehicle would probably get me into town….and I could make a little money on the side. With 10 or 12 inches of snow on the ground…..and I am not counting the 3 and 4 feet drifts….I doubt if even a good red-neck four-wheeler would do much good. Although I would probably get an argument on this point from some of my slightly red-neck friends.

OK. We have established the fact. I am trapped inside…..and I am not going any where until the snow plow comes past…..and my neighbor boy comes and cleans out my driveway.

The question becomes: What am I going to do for 48 hours….alone in my solitude….with nobody around to talk to? It’s not like it hasn’t happened before. It has. Many times. But, that doesn’t change the question: What am I going to do to pass the time of day?

Back when I was still working at the school, I welcomed these days: Blessed Snow Days! I, along with most other teachers, would keep our eyes glued to the TV, watching for the name of our school to scroll across the bottom of the screen. Looking back, I am not really sure why we did this. The employees were always the first to be informed by a sort of calling network. When the telephone rang, we answered it eagerly, hoping it would be our contact person tell us that school has been canceled for the day. And, then we would still sit in front of the TV, watching for the notification, just to confirm the good news.

On those days, it was a welcome day of rest…..and unexpected day of relaxation. And…let’s face it. Many of those days, we weren’t really snowed in all day long. It was merely too risky and dangerous to have the school buses out on the snow covered roads early in the morning before the snow plows had cleared the roads. Usually the snow had stopped during the night….the snow plows would soon come past….and by the early afternoon, everything was pretty much back to normal, with all the kids driving around town.

But snow storms like the one we had today are different. It snowed all day….and it is still snowing tonight. The snow just keeps getting deeper and deeper. The trap keeps getting tighter and tighter.

So….what do I do on days like this? How do I….and how can I…..pass the time. And we are talking about at least 48 hours. Forty eight hours of aloneness and solitude. Forty eight hours of being trapped here in my house.

Well…..as long as I have the Big Three: TV, Internet and books, I can probably somehow manage. I can’t speed up time….but I can disguise it and make it seem to go faster.

Thanks Heavens for the Internet. What did we ever do without it? I know that I spent more than three-fourth of my life without it. Although looking back, I am exactly sure how I did it. What did I do without e-mail? Without Facebook? Without Skype? I know I once lived without them, but they are surely good things to have when you are “home alone”. At the very least, they can provide some virtual companionship….the illusion that you are not entirely by yourself. It provides a window to the outside world that I would not ordinarily have. So….score a point for the Internet.

I am going to rank television in the Number 2 place. Back in the days before the Internet, it was definitely Number One….with no close rival…..even in the days when there were only four or five local channels to choose from. We didn’t know any better. That was all there were…..and we happily accepted the fact. What you don’t know doesn’t hurt you….or something like that. Television is not very interactive….but it is a good source of entertainment….something to pass time (more or less like it does even when it it not snowing). It fills the vacuum of silence….if one is bothered by that. There are voices in the background….people on the screen. And, don’t rule out the fact that there are probably many programs that a person really wants to watch….but with a busy schedule, don’t have the time. Well, now you have all the time in the world to satisfy your viewing pleasure. And, while I am on the subject……TV is an excellent source of news, weather….and all sorts of valuable information that one might need in times like this.

For me, at least……a good book ranks third on my list of favorite ways to pass time when I am trapped at home by myself. I am not kidding myself. I know that for most people, reading a book ranks quite far down the list….after wandering bare foot outside in the snow for 2 or 3 hours. Even I was tempted to rank it 4^th……after taking a nap. But, I didn’t. Becoming engrossed in a good book is an excellent way to pass time, no matter if you are snowed in or not. For me, time begins to fly when I start reading a good book. It is easy to lose track of time…..and suddenly realize that two or three or four hours have passed. I have gotten so interested in reading a book that I have let the fire in the wood stove die out. And, the stove is only eight feet in front of me. I have started reading a good at night….and suddenly realized that it is middle of the night….and I need to go to bed. So…..don’t rule out settling down with a good book.

And….yes…..I will have to admit that taking a nap ranks somewhere around number four on my list of things to do when I am snowed in. So….let’s change Big 3 to Big 4. All I have to do is turn on one of my favorite music CD’s, sit down in the recliner…..and I am out like a light, as they say. I am puzzled by all these people who say, “Oh, I don’t take naps because if I do I can’t sleep at night.” I have never had that problem. I can sleep almost any time, any place. What does that tell you? Maybe I am lazy. Or maybe I am over-worked and need the rest. (Be quiet….I can hear you chuckling!). Or maybe I have sleeping sickness….the non-medical type. Or maybe I just like to take naps. But, I can assure you of one thing: When you wake up……some time has passed by….. Time that you otherwise do not have to fill.

Those are the Big Four. But there are other ways and other things that have to be done, too. I would like to sit in my recliner and rest or read or watch TV or sleep all day….but it usually doesn’t turn out that way.

I find for some reason, I am prone to eat more when I am involuntarily confined to my house. Sometimes I may even cook. Not very often….but it does happen. Normally, I don’t advertise the fact, because I have most people convinced that I know nothing about cooking. What the heck…..I have even convinced myself. But, there are times….when I have guests…..or when I am supremely bored….or when I get the irrational urge…..that I actually do some cooking. Simple cooking…..but yet it is cooking. It isn’t the cooking that I object to. Sometimes that can be fun. The problem is: Doing the dishes! I simply do not like to do dishes. I never have…..and I think it is safe to say….I never will. Most people just pop the dirty dishes into the dish washer…..and forget about it. But, my dish washer(s) comes in the form of two hands! I still cannot understand the logic of spending an hour preparing food…..for one person…..eating the food in 5 minutes…..and spending 20 minutes doing dishes. And, if there is one thing I do not like….in my own house…..it is dirty dishes stacked up waiting to be washed and put away. There is never a dirty dish in my house. As soon as I use it…..it wash it and put it away. One may find a lot of things wrong with my house…..but dirty dishes it not one of them.

Snow days are good days for getting in touch with other family members…..and my former exchange students and guests. In the “old days”, I did this by using the telephone. Now, I prefer to use Skype. It is more personal, less expensive…..”free” is pretty cheap…..and vastly more pleasant and rewarding when I can see the person I am talking to. It is the next best thing to having the person sitting in a chair next to you.

In former days…..back when I was younger……I had to spend part of the day shoveling the snow out of my driveway and off the front porch. At one time, I had a snow plow, which made the task easier and quicker. But….it turned out to be a piece of junk…..and after a couple or three seasons, it broke down and never worked again. I had it repaired once by a local mechanic. It cost almost as much to repair it as it cost when I bought it. So much for being ripped off. Nowadays, I have to hire somebody to do this work….largely because of my heart. It gives some my neighbor boy or some high school kid a job…..it stimulates the economy…..and it definitely cuts down on the wear and tear on my old worn out body.

OK….. You are probably saying, “What is the problem? You have lots of things you can do while you are snowed in.”

Yes…..that may be true. In fact, it probably is true. But, all these things still do not make up for human contact. Sitting in my recliner relaxing is just not the same as being able to talk to somebody face to face. Talking to somebody on Skype is not as satisfying as sitting and talking in a quiet bar.

But, on the other hand, I am glad that I have some interesting things to do to pass the time when I am home alone……being held hostage by a snow storm.