Frozen Wasteland or Winter Wonderland

An old essay based on an older on that was supposed to be written about our feelings on any season.

When winter comes around in Michigan, it means many things. It means that the holiday season, with such enjoyable holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years, are coming near. It means that everyone can pull out his or her snowmobiles and sleds to go out for a ride. It means it’s time to get out the snow shovels and the snowplows. It means it is time to start turning up the heat and piling on the clothes. It means it’s time to start getting used to being stuck on the side of the road, or, even worse, in the middle of it. Yes, Michigan winters may be a time of holiday fun and snow-filled wonder, but they are also a time of slipping on ice and miserably cold days. Michigan through the months of December to March (and sometimes longer) is no winter wonderland.  It’s a frozen wasteland filled with treacherous ice, frigid winds, and bleak, cloudy days. There are many terrible things about this time of year in this state, but the worst things of all are the winter storms. They are often the causes of many of the other dreadful occurrences of this time of year. They are freezing, deafening, and create havoc all over the area they hit. They are often long, large, and they almost always manage to cause some sort of chaos.

            One of the few predictable things about a winter storm in Michigan is that things are going to probably get even colder. Which is amazing because Michigan is often below freezing on a bright and sunny winter day, which is a rare occurrence indeed. The winds rage at high speeds and blows the already frigid air about, plunging the temperature down many degrees. The cold can be so intense that people can feel it in their houses with the heat turned up high, wearing their warmest outfits, and covered up with a mountain of blankets. It’s even worse when they are stuck outside. The wind whips around the arctic air and makes people’s faces turn raw with the cold beating they receive. With freezing rain, one of the worst kinds of storm, people become drenched with the freezing water, which becomes makes the coldness of the wind even more apparent as it freezes the water on their clothing and skin. With any kind of snowstorm, the same effect can happen as the snow melts from the person’s body heat. Outside, it is impossible to escape the cold, even with the warmest sweaters, coats, pants, boots, gloves, etc. The cold chills people down to the bone. It can even be deadly, as people and animals have died from the bitter cold.

            The winds that occur from winter storms are powerful enough to break the limbs off from a giant elderly pine tree. The wind tears through the land with the ferocity of a pack of mad, starving wolves, sometimes causing massive destruction in the areas it passes through and always creating massive noise. The wind howls unmercifully without end at levels that even the hard of hearing have no trouble discerning. As the wind shrieks through the trees it pounds on the ear drums of the area’s inhabitants. As it hits old houses and flimsy trailers it causes them to creak and moan in distress. The wind is dominant, but it is not the only contributor to the cacophonous noise of a winter storm. The snow, rain, sleet and ice all play a part in this discordant symphony. The noise is near impossible to drown out. No amount of other noise seems to stifle the racket the storm creates. Turn on the T.V., play the guitar, blast the radio; it does no good. The disenchanting melody of the wind breaks through it all.

            Probably the most devastating part of the storm is the precipitation. Rain, snow, sleet, and hail can all cause a great deal of mayhem and destruction. Hail can cause holes, bumps, bruises, dents, cracking and even more serious damage, if the hail is big enough. Rain and sleet can freeze, covering everything with a sheet of ice. This ice causes drivers to slip and slide all over the road, to fly screeching into a ditch or snowdrift, or to flip their vehicles onto their roofs. This same ice weighs down tree limbs, causing them to bend until they can no longer handle the stress and they finally snap. As a result the tree is damaged or destroyed, and anything or anyone under it at the time can suffer the same fate. The ice can also damage power lines, make just about any inanimate object near impossible to move, and it can make walking a few feet without falling on your face a really difficult task. Snow can also make it near impossible to go anywhere. Enough snow can fall that it becomes a real chore just to walk to the car, let alone drive anywhere, which would be a bad idea at the time. Snow can also weigh things down and can cause as much damage as ice. Snow, admittedly, can be quite beautiful to some. They see it’s glistening beauty shining on the ground and enjoy it when it’s gracefully tumbling like a feather. However, during a winter storm, snow blows about in a whirlwind of constant, erratic motion. It goes around, rising and falling, twisting and turning. It continues it’s demonic waltz through the sky until it reaches the ground where it rests until a gust of wind propels it into motion again. The cycle continues until the storm dies down and the wind chooses to cease its rampage. Though such an event can be bewitching, it can also be quite frightening, especially when a person knows what the result of this dance may be.

            Michigan storms can be frightening and dangerous. Though they sometimes have an enchanting beauty about them, these storms can cause a great deal of destruction and chaos. They can cut off power and transportation, leading to many perils. They can cause great injury and even death. However, they do have their positives. When all is said and done, after all noise ceases, and the clouds clear, even though the cold and the damage remains, and the danger is still quite real, the storm has done something wonderful. It has created a magnificent view. One thing every person should get the chance to do at least once in his or her life is to look out a window in the Michigan countryside after a winter storm. That view is one of the things that are so great about Michigan. However, although the view is amazing, there is still the snow and ice people have to deal with. Yet, people in Michigan deal with it every year, and they know more than just how to deal with it. They know how to turn it all around in their favor. The people of Michigan know how to turn the frozen wasteland that their state becomes into a winter wonderland.

           

           

 

Author's Note

Note: this is somewhat old and based on something older.

Reviews

[Marie]

This is very interesting; especially to me, since I live in South texas where we get perhaps one week of wnter each yeaer. I think I miss seeing snow till I read something like this.