Jan. 26, 2010 — I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago when Susanville was experiencing a few days of rain and warmer weather. I considered it a preparation for my mini-vacation to Tacoma, Wash. It did rain in Washington the four days I was there, but it was also 50 degrees.   

I didn’t mind the mild rain of the Seattle/Tacoma area, but then again, I wasn’t there to sight see. I went to spend time with my middle daughter, whose husband had been deployed at the beginning of 2010 to Afghanistan as an Army medic. I had a three-fold mission of my own. First, to make sure she was OK. Second, to help her buy things for a care package and three, to teach her to knit. I managed all three.

I flew home in time to be greeted by snow and winds in Reno and news that we were waiting for the snowstorm of the century. Now, I know I am getting cynical the older I get. But a few Susanvillains and I are wondering what that really means. As one of my friends said on Facebook, “We live in the Sierra Nevadas.”   

Yes, we live in snow country and that is the way it and should be. Sometimes I wonder if too many people move to the area from the valley or other areas of California and forget that Susanville is High Desert country noted for its four seasons. Coming from the Midwest, I was excited to move to an area of California that sees a real autumn with leaves changing colors.  

I was also happy to move to an area of the country that has cold weather and snow. I am always glad when the first frost comes and I want a white Christmas, but I am not particularly happy that winter seems to go on forever.    

Since moving here in 2001, I have heard about the winter of ’93 and ’94 when snow was to the rooftops. In the last nine years, I have seen snow piled up in the middle of Main Street, and I remember City Council meetings for several years when arguments ensued over where snow should be plowed — to the center or down the middle.    

My advice is to get a warm coat, some gloves, a battery-powered flashlight, some extra blankets, and a generator if you can afford it, extra food and water and stay home if you can when the weather turns ugly. We call Lassen County God’s country and like I tell people God will decide when to let it snow, when to let the sun shine and we have to deal with it.   

Now, when the power works is another thing entirely. That is something Barack Obama needs to figure out if he ever decides a new power grid is important for the nation.