Blizzard 2015

Martini Winter Survival

Old Man Winter has finally decided to rear his ugly head in a big way here in New England. I am generally not what you would call a very patient person and yet I have been hoping for milder weather for some time now.  While some of the locals do as our aviary friends and flock to the warmer climes of the south for the winter, I have been waiting for all that warm weather to come to me.  I have been anxiously awaiting for the phenomenon of Global Warming to turn my typical northern winters into something a bit more balmy.  Perhaps I am putting too much faith in the (political) science of climatology.

     Looking back, I have nothing but good memories of the major Nor' Easters that I have endured as a New Englander.  Living through the Blizzard of '78 was a major life event for people around here.  It has been described as a 100 year storm, which means (you guessed it), they only come around every 100 years or so.  The "perfect storm" of a stalled front off the southeast coast driving counterclockwise waves of snow, coupled with freezing temps, near hurricane force winds, and an astronoically high tide (in the literal sense) combined to produce that memorable event.  With snow drifts to the roof tops, impassable roads, and closed grocery stores, what else could people do but actually be nice and help each other out.  It never ceases to amaze me how the neighbor who has led a near Hatfield/McCoy feud all year, woulld gladly help a neighbor shovel out their car.  Sometimes it takes the worst times to bring out the best in people.  


      Looking towards the Blizzard of 2015, it's time to prepare.  Here in New England, as soon as the word "Nor Easter" hits the airwaves, the stores are jammed and the lines begin to form at the gas stations.  For some reason which I have yet to fathom, there is a run on bread, milk, bottled water, and batteries.  Now I can definitely understand the gas.  You need that for the car, the generator, and the snowblower. I can maybe see the batteries for when the power goes out, but the rest seems to me a bit of overkill. When was the last time, food supplies were interrupted for days on end in the good old USA?  Perhaps some backwards country, like North Korea, has trouble with food supplies.  Oh no, I said it,  I suppose now it's me vs. Kim Jung Un or Il or whatever his  name is.  As soon as I post this, I will have to go and update my antiviral software.  By the way, in case your following me Kim, your favorite movie was just released on Netflix and I am watching The Interview tonight.


Back to preparations....

1. Gin - Botanist, Dingle, Hendricks, Bombay Sapphire
2. Vermouth 
3. Olives
4. Batteries for the remote control for the gas fireplace
5. Food

What else could I need?

     
Now armed with all this knowledge and background plus having seen every Bear Grylls show, I feel that  I can survive anything given a knife, some rope, and a fire starter.  Oh yes, and the Martini essentials.....