The sky is falling, the sky is falling

That's pretty much the attitude around here when it snows.

Or when it might snow.

Or even when snow is remotely conceivable.

To be fair, the warnings for today had been universally dire: we're going to get lots of snow, you should expect problems, etc. It even is snowing in some parts of the area--but not in most. We don't need actual snow to panic, however; we just need the rumor of it.

The reason is that the moment someone discusses snow, we all have to face two realities:

1) No local government is really set up to handle it. They're much better at it than they were when I moved here, but snow really does constitute an exceptional experience for my part of North Carolina.

2) No one here knows how to drive on snow. Well, you do, of course, and maybe your friends, but not the rest of the people.

The combination of these factors means that you do not want to be stuck away from home should a real snowstorm hit, because you probably won't make it safely back there.

So, when the snow rumors start, our population follows a predictable pattern:

* We close the schools.

* Everyone who can work from home does.

* We swarm the grocery stores and buy all the milk, eggs, and bread that we can.

I've always found this last bit mystifying. Dennis Rogers, once a local newspaper columnist, hazarded a guess that we were all planning to make French toast should the white stuff fall. Perhaps it's toad-in-the-hole. I'm not sure.

Regardless, I'll be heading home from the office soon. Maybe we'll have breakfast for dinner.