Greetings from Pastor Pat

Think Spring

This has been a very mild winter, hardly any snow at all. And that’s fine with me. When I was a child, there were two things I learned about snow. The first thing was you never eat any of the first snow that falls. The reason you did not was because of the "contaminated snow theory." You see, my older brothers and sisters, inspired by all the nuclear testing that was taking place in the early 60's, convinced me that the first fallen 
snow was laden with nuclear particles. For one's own personal safety, it was important to wait until the second snow fall of the year before ingesting any snow. When the first snow fell, it would wipe out all the nuclear fallout floating around in the sky. By the time the second snow fell, it would be safe to consume.
 
I certainly hope my brothers and sisters enjoyed jerking me around this way. Everybody knows there is nothing to the "contaminated snow theory." Everybody knows the reason you don't eat the first snow is because it is stale!
 
I remember as a child, my mother going out and collecting some good, second-snow-fall snow, and making snow ice cream. She would take snow and mix it with some sugar and vanilla and create one of the best winter treats a young boy could ask for. As I think about it, you could probably mix sugar and vanilla with just about anything and come up with a tasty treat.
 
My brothers and I would spend many days out on the hills on our farm sleigh riding. My father or one of my older brothers would take the tractor out and run it up and down and up and down the hill until we had a tightly packed surface. When our farm pond was frozen, we took our trail right out onto the surface of the frozen water and across the pond we would fly.
 
We had a real sled back then, not these plastic imitations. The "Snow Rider" was written in bright red letters across it's deck. It was not a simple matter of just setting down on it and expecting a ride. You had to know something about navigation. To ride a "Snow Rider" you had to learn how to steer with your hands or feet. And leaning with your body from side to side was an important part of steering, especially if you rode double.
 
As they say, whoever "they" are, "those were the good old days." I hope these few lines of reminiscence has made a cold rainy day a little more bearable for you. I hope as I share my own memories, you have been taken back to a place that holds as much fondness as my past does for me. And just think, Spring is right around the corner.
 
Oh by the way, the second thing I learned about snow-never, under any circumstances do you eat yellow snow.
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Gods Blessings, Pastor Pat