"Neither snow..."

You know the rest of it, generally accepted as the motto of the U.S. Postal Service, that is until the mail truck hit the Big Rip. S-T-U-C-K!!! Yes sirree, Bob! A semi met its match at the intersection of Lafayette and Randolph. Came to a halt and blocked all traffic (not that there was any) on Lafayette and Randolph.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked into the kitchen. Why is the mail truck just sitting there? It's dark and the snow had finally stopped (for all intent and purpose) around 7 p.m. No lights, no movement. The truck "looked cold" so he must have been there a while. Then, here comes John Deere with the snow plow attached. Cleared Randolph and then got to work on the P.O. lot. A lot of snow out there, boys and girls. Here comes Public Works. People moving about. The truck is still not moving.

Well, people, they had to TOW the truck. Hooked the chains from the John Deere to the semi and off they went. I have no idea where he was towed to but it was a hoot to watch. John Deere made it look real easy. The truck finally got going this morning. Yep, I was watching as he backed out of Randolph, made his turn, and went on his merry way. How do I know that it was the same truck? Because there was a ton of snow on the top of it.

We've weathered the storm, so far anyway. Reports say anywhere between 5 inches and a foot of snow fell in the area. I don't look forward to doing the walkway and drive but I've got to two days to work on it. Understand that there was a fatal accident on Rte. 19, my only way to work. Knew it was best for me to call in. That road is treacherous in the best of weather. Can't you see me stuck on one of those "rolling hills"? Better yet, can you see my face?

So back to the motto, the Post Office doesn't have a real motto although many older buildings have the saying carved into the facade. The motto actually came from Herodotus:

It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day’s journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed.

The method of carrying messages Herodotus describes was a Persian invention and enabled the messengers to travel swiftly. In this fashion King Xerxes sent a message home to Persia that the Greeks had destroyed his fleet off Salamis in 480 B.C.—George Stimpson, A Book About a Thousand Things, pp. 69–70 (1946).

Aren't you glad that I'm around to keep you informed? And speaking of being informed, I was very happy to watch the Prez deliver a major case of whoop a$$ at the GOP retreat. Saw it for myself, no sound bites for the kid, and he did it without the teleprompters. As the commentators noted--1 against 140 and he delivered big time! Across the Aisle You go, boy!

So what else is happening here? Clogged drain. Give me a break. A minor inconvenience. Better than a frozen pipe.

Happy Birthday to my January babies, especially J.R., hope it was great! Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay blessed.