Dee Duryee’s recent column about not being fond of winter struck a chord when the temperature dropped below zero. I was grateful that last week’s snow came late enough on Friday that most of the Tribune staff could hurry home. After we “put the paper to bed,” we locked the front door and holed up for the weekend.

I made a quick stop at the grocery store for milk and I wasn’t surprised to see a lot of other folks had the same idea. When I watched the evening news, I learned that two-thirds of the country was braced for bad weather and that items such as ice melt and snow shovels, scrapers and gloves were flying off the shelves in stores. I searched my coat closet for the Yaktrax that fit over my shoes and work like snow chains on car tires.

Saturday arrived and I didn’t stir from my house, but looked at the snow and thought, “That’s not so bad.” I didn’t look forward to clearing it off, though.

In the afternoon, it was about 10 degrees outside when I heard my coworker, Andrew, running a snow blower in my front drive. He even cleared the snow from my car and then disappeared, heading into the west like the Lone Ranger. Who was that masked man? I can’t say “thank you” enough.

As of Monday, more than 200 million Americans have reportedly been under some form of extreme cold alert. On Saturday afternoon, my Aunt in Dallas told the family (via our group text) that it was 20 degrees, “ground is white, more on the way but we still have lights, heat and running water. Yeah!”

That evening, her temperature had dropped to 11 and her heater was “struggling.” But the sun came out again on Sunday.

Back when I first started working at the Great Bend Tribune, probably before I was 30 years old, I used to write a column every winter in celebration of the first snowfall. The landscape is transformed from bare-branch barren to a pristine, sparkling awesome. Children and dogs jump for joy as they roll in the snow. It’s time for mittens and scarves, making snowmen, tossing snowballs and sliding down hills on sleds.

Earlier this winter, we did have a snow like that. As I cleared snow from the car to head home from work, big flakes continued to fall until I looked like a snowman. On the drive home, I saw a dad in his front yard with two little boys. I should have written my Ode to Snow right then.

This is NOT one of those days. It took me an extra long time to get to work on Monday but the whole Tribune team made the trip, including some that have much further to travel than I do. It is no fun getting around on days like this and I hope you don’t have to. May your furnaces keep working and your pipes not freeze.

Susan Thacker is the editor of the Great Bend Tribune. Contact her at sthacker@gbtribune.com.