What is a Snow Day?

Growing up in south Georgia about 50 miles from the Florida line and then having a 40+ year career in a 365/24/7 business, it's little wonder that Snow Days have passed me by all my life.<br /> <br /> I can remember only one Snow Day in the twelve years I attended public schools in Tifton and Moultrie and we may have only missed half-a-day. I think that was in February 1958 or '59. It wasn't much - perhaps a half-inch or so and I think we made the day up by going to school on a Saturday. <br /> <br /> After graduating from high school, I embarked on a career in radio and, again, Snow Days passed me by.<br /> <br /> Whether it was one inch or ten inches, you were expected to be on the job, especially if you worked in the newsroom - the mantra being "if you can't get here, we'll come get you." <br /> <br /> Except for one or two times when I could not get out of my driveway and had not thought ahead to park at the bottom of it, I always managed to drive myself to work. I never found that driving on ice or snow was especially tricky as long as I watched my speed and planned my stops well ahead of time. <br /> <br /> Snow, while pretty as it falls and in the first day or two after it falls, causes all kinds of problems around here, and it doesn't take much of it. Schools and work are disrupted for thousands of people. When you have a situation like we had last week, the economy takes a hit, as well. That's the ugly side of snow as we know it.<br /> <br /> Over the years I've judged news broadcasts from other parts of the country, including the Snow Belt, for the Associated Press Broadcasters Association awards. Some of those newscasts were from the middle of winter, when 6-8-10 inches of snow were forecast, and there was no sense of urgency in the newscasts and programming, no schools or businesses or industries closed or delaying their opening. Yawn. Just another winter's day.<br /> <br /> I often thought I'd like to work in one of those areas for two or three years just to experience a different approach to snow. But, alas, that never happened.<br /> <br /> Oh well. Maybe in my next life. <br /> <br /> (Ken Stanford is the retired longtime News Director for WDUN-AM, WDUN-FM, 1240 ESPN Radio and AccessNorthGa.com.)