Snowing

 

Hayter for January 26, 2026 

"The day it snowed" 

            It was a cold and chilly night, my friend. I know that well because I kept going outside to see if the snow was falling. I was only able to recognize frozen mist. The wind was as cold as a well digger’s rear… not that I’ve ever felt of a well digger’s rear. But I have read the stories.

While I kept leaving the house and looking for snow, Kay was sitting in her lounge chair reading a story that had no snow in it. She’s never enjoyed the cold.

After about an hour, the snow had arrived. It was on my face, wrists, and bald spot. I immediately ran to get my cap, gloves, and Kay’s long black scarf for my neck. My nieghbors weren’t outside to see me wearing a scarf, and Kay had no idea I borrowed it.

After a short while, my neighbor Conrad seized the moment and got his charcoal grill to light. The man is wise beyond his years. His wife and one of his sons came out to fight the cold and enjoy the moment. From where I stood I could hear a few kids screaming from the park. Either the seats on the swings were covered in snow or they were just displaying the joy of snow. I, too, was tempted to start screaming but figured I might run Conrad and his family off.

My other neighbor’s car was parked between Conrad’s and my house. It was covered in snow, so I made two baby feet on the back windshield. The family has three super kids, and I thought it’d be cute if the kiddos saw baby foot prints on their car. Of course, I’d soon tell them the truth, because my uncles lied to me so much when I was young, that I didn’t know which end was up. A pleasant feeling.

Unfortunately, the kiddos and parents never came outside. They may have been sick. After several minutes, Kay joined us outside. She even added a baby’s handprint next to the baby's feet on the car’s window. I don’t know how you make a baby’s handprint. I’m only good with feet.

It wasn’t long before the snow got a bit heavier. It got so cold that Kay stole her own scarf from me. It wasn’t a mink stole, but she stole it just the same. My kinfolks in Washington State would consider our behavior laughable. “You call that snow? I’ve gone barefoot in snow like that!” I’d just as soon not share our snow-moment with the Washington clan.

The best snow I’ve ever witnessed occurred in Pasadena, Texas back in 1961, give or take. The snow fell way over eight inches. Of course, I was only 11 years old at the time, so it could’ve been much less. After the falling snow calmed down a bit, the neighborhood kids came out to play. Two hours later, each yard was a miserable mess. The fallen snow was being used for snowball wars, snowmen, and snow forts.

And, it was cold. I should’ve led with that. At our house, each child had two pairs of shoes. One pair was made of leather and had shoestrings, but was used only for church and weddings. Your second pair were tennis shoes. You wore them everywhere else. In the blizzard of ’61, the snow laughed at tennis shoes.

We tried everything—extra socks, newspaper, paper sacks… There wasn’t much plastic back then. However, the Hayter house had one thing that no one else did. We had bank-bags! My big brother Larry worked for the Post Office. For whatever reason, the post office had a lot of empty bang bags that were no longer using. I don’t know what they used them for in the first place.

Each bag would cover a kid’s foot up to his knee. Of course, we first checked the contents of each bag. Nothing there. So, we pulled the bags over our tennis shoes and tied them on with string. They worked great… for about two runs across the yard. Then their insides were wet and cold

We had to keep returning to the garage to swap out our money bags. Eventually, playing in the snow was more of a fete than our feet could stand. The only bright moment was when Steve’s mother invited us in for homemade ice cream made from snow. The lady was a a beautiful genius. The only thing I knew about her was that she was single, gorgeous, and kind as all get out.

I didn’t pay much attention to her snow ice cream process, but I could smell a bit of vanilla, and I noticed a gallon of milk on the cabinet. It was the best ice cream I ever had. Her kindness, delicious ice cream, and beauty helped me remember the moment. Right now all I have to remember my latest snow moment are a few photos and some ice that’s still clinging to the roof.

Unless Kay and I visit Washington next winter, this will be our last snow.  No big deal. I’ll get over it. Fortunately, aging has a way shifting ones concept of fun. I think God made that happen for the purpose of saving the lives of the less young.

end

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