{"id":3678,"date":"2020-01-18T00:08:25","date_gmt":"2020-01-18T00:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=3678"},"modified":"2025-09-17T17:08:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T17:08:14","slug":"another-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/another-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>
\n(Like the song<\/a> says, “Oh, the weather outside is frightful….”)<\/p>\n

There’s a Winter Storm Warning in progress this afternoon, which may become a blizzard if the storm sidesteps a tad. Either way, it’s not a day to go for a leisurely stroll.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Folks on morning radio recited a long list of school closings and event cancellations.<\/p>\n

None of which affected me. Not directly.<\/p>\n

My weekly hour at the St. Faustina Adoration Chapel was yesterday. It was sincerely cold, a bit windy but no snow.<\/p>\n

About the Adoration Chapel. We’re not adoring St. Faustina. I’ve talked about that before. (December 13, 2019<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Sauk Centre’s city website (saukcentre.govoffice2.com<\/a>) includes a Snow Emergency statement:<\/p>\n

“Snow Emergency<\/strong>
\n“Effective at 11:00 p.m. on Friday, January 17, 2020, a Snow Emergency has been declared for the City of Sauk Centre till 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 19, 2020. Vehicles parked on the street are subject to ticket and towing. *On street\/overnight parking is not allowed.*”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Makes sense to me. And I hope that folks who have vehicles but not reserved off-street parking find spots for their cars and trucks.<\/p>\n

While I’m thinking of it, hats off to the folks running snow plows, emergency services: and working at stores and businesses that are open today.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Today’s Storm and Perceptions<\/h4>\n

<\/a>
\n(From National Weather Service, used w\/o permission.)<\/span>
\n(National Weather Service’s early afternoon map. (January 17, 2020))<\/p>\n

The current storm \u2014 it’s expected to taper off Saturday evening \u2014 and others like it are part of the Upper Midwest experience.<\/p>\n

I’ve spent the bulk of my life in this area, and grew up on the Minnes0ta-North Dakota border. For me, this is “normal.”<\/p>\n

Other folks probably have different perceptions. Like the fellow I saw while living in San Francisco. I was walking to work. To a bus stop on my way to work, actually.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I was wearing a windbreaker and a cap: more than enough to deal with the mildly cool temperature.<\/p>\n

This other fellow was walking to some destination: wearing a snorkel parka with the hood extended, hands in the parka’s pockets. Maybe he’d lost a bet. Or thought he looked cool in the metaphorical sense. Or something else. Or maybe it really felt that cold to him.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Oddly enough, I don’t remember any wannabe prophets declaring that our usual winter weather is an anger-prone God’s judgement on us.<\/p>\n

Maybe because it is<\/strong> our usual weather. Which has encouraged us to have equipment and procedures ready. And that’s another topic.<\/p>\n

I’ve talked about weather, scapegoating and the Siloam tower before. (February 23, 2019<\/a>; November 17, 2017<\/a>; September 17, 2018<\/a>; August 27, 2017<\/a>)<\/p>\n

<\/a>What’s Next?<\/h4>\n

<\/a>On the other hand, this sort of weather raises a question: what are we doing here?<\/p>\n

Why did my ancestors decide to live in a place where water is a mineral for much of the year?<\/p>\n

Denouncing non-tropical human settlement as an affront to the Almighty is an option.<\/p>\n

Provided I take an ‘if God meant us to fly, we’d have wings’ attitude. And hope that nobody notices where I live.<\/p>\n

Besides, I’m not bothered that humans can’t survive here without technology. Fire and clothing, at a minimum.<\/p>\n

Partly because we have the necessary tech. The environment next to my skin is at a pleasant 77\u00b0 Fahrenheit. Thanks to clothing, insulated walls and a furnace.<\/p>\n

That temperature’s right around daytime conditions in part of humanity’s homeland. It’s a little cooler there at the moment, and an hour to two past midnight.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Getting back to why humans moved here, and elsewhere. As I see it, we’re here because we’re human. Humans, some of us, travel. We wonder what’s over the next hill, and I’ve talked about that before. And probably will again.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, more snow has fallen. And I haven’t decided what to write next in the post I’d planned to work on today.<\/p>\n

Maybe I’ll come up with an idea tomorrow. Then again, maybe not.<\/p>\n

Not-necessarily-related posts:<\/p>\n