You Want Me to Do What With That Snow?

Trip Start Jan 15, 2000

Trip End Jan 15, 2000

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Flag of United States Rapid City, South Dakota
Saturday, January 15, 2000

It was the Christmas holiday, and my college roommate, a little more than a year out of Calcutta (Kolkata), India, was about to stay at school for the break. Not on my watch. I asked him to come home to South Dakota with me. He wasn't real sure about going anywhere further north than Iowa, but after several inspiring speeches from me about mountains and pine trees, he relented.

It was a particularly snowy January. Following one evening snowfall, my step-father insisted we all get up early and shovel. Being one of the nicest guys in the universe - and suspecting he'd be the only guy left in the house - my roommate offered to help. He didn't know what he was in for.

Having spent one winter in Iowa already, he knew what snow was all about. But having never shoveled before, I don't think he fully appreciated how heavy the stuff can be. Or how cold it can get. When you grow up in a coastal tropical climate, any kind of snow is a bit of a system shock, I think. What a way to start the day!

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