- By Matthew P. Binkewicz
- Opinions
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As children growing up in the late 1960’s and into the 1970’s, we would wish for, and on many nights pray for, a snow day or at least a delay. I do recall some early delays and even a few school cancellations. The really cold temperatures would ensure that the snow remained for days. By Thanksgiving, there was enough snow to go sledding down the steep hill located behind our elementary school.
The local fire station, in Endwell, would flood their back lot and create a real ice rink. Dozens of kids would walk down and enjoy the free skating. My brothers and I would get home from school, pack up our skates, and walk down to the outdoor rink and skate until our faces were beat red from the cold. We managed to stay out of trouble or at least avoid it when older kids took to the ice.
When it snowed, a fireman would shovel off the ice or leave a shovel in the back hall for us to use. The back hall was heated, and when you had skated too long and could no longer feel your toes, it was a place where you could remove your skates and stand on the warm floor mats allowing your toes to thaw to room temperature.
With the most recent wave of mild weather I have thought about those colder years of my youth. I wonder if today’s kids miss the outdoor sledding and skating that their parents remember from their childhood. There are times when I see children sledding down the hill behind the Lansing School, but they seem to be rare moments as the snow does not remain on the ground for any length of time. The warmer than normal temperatures mean no ice, and that translates into no outdoor skating.
On average, fall and winter have been warmer. Large amounts of snow remaining on the ground have been rare. This year, Thanksgiving was mild. Christmas was balmy. The New Year has followed along the same unseasonably mild weather track. Miraculously, our most recent, and if I remember, first appreciable amounts of snow came last week. The weather had turned cold and windy. For a brief moment, we actually experienced winter. Parents took their children out and enjoyed a day or two of sledding. But that joy was short lived. By Tuesday, the temperatures had risen, and the rain melted the snow erasing all evidence of winter.
Children are not the only ones suffering from mild temperatures. Word has it that the annual Whitney Point Ice Fishing Tournament, known as the Crappy Derby, has been canceled due to a lack of ice. Ski resorts are experiencing record losses as downhill skiing has been limited and cross country skiing nearly impossible. Wineries are concerned about warm temperatures adversely affecting the grapes this year. Sporting goods stores and outdoor recreation suppliers are concerned as well with lower sales.
Whether you think human activity is responsible or not, global warming is real and changing the way we live both economically and socially. Perhaps we are just in the midst of a 50,000 year weather cycle and just have to wait another 1,000 years for the weather pattern to readjust. I think we can and must do more to combat global warming. Thoughts on that topic will be addressed in upcoming editorials. And that is to the point.
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