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Appreciating how we freeze


Austin Jackson

Growing up, I loved to huddle around the television and wait for my school to show up on the scrolling list of closures. 

I had my snow gear laid out, praying for it to become official, so I could go be careless for a day. Depending on the year, the snowmen could be small or just a mound of slush, but that was fine with me. I would seek out hills to sled on, or just scoot around on our steep driveway that proved to be quite an adventure for my parents to climb in their cars on those days.

I’ve found myself on the other end of that process now, as schools announce, working to share the most updated information to our readers online.

And while we don’t necessarily slow down at a newspaper when the weather gets cold and roads become treacherous, I still appreciate how we as Texans respond to ice and snow.

Yes, we overreact. 

Yes, we don’t know how to drive in this stuff.

After the ice storm in 2021, we probably get overly dramatic, thinking, “here we go again” at the first sign of gray skies and below-freezing temperatures.

People from northern states can make fun of us all they want.

I think us Texans have it figured out.

In our state, these days are rare.

Many of us take that time to step back and binge random TV shows.

We eat bowl after bowl of chili. Some try to sled, others stay cuddled in blankets, glancing out the window to confirm that it is in fact way too cold to go outside.

I know all of us don’t have this luxury. People have to work. And work makes this world turn.

For first responders, people in the medical profession and other essential workers, the ice and its headaches can mean more work, no matter the conditions.

But for the lucky ones, it’s a time where the world seems to stop. When I ventured to work a few times this week, the roads were eerily empty. That’s for the best. I slid and slipped on more than one occasion.

It only happens about one time a year in North Texas. I hope you got to enjoy the winter weather, and now, with it hopefully out of the way, I’m ready for spring.

Austin Jackson is the editor of the Wise County Messenger.

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