Snow Day

It seems that regardless of where you live the weather thwarts you whenever it desires.  Although the chill is no worse than a chilly November in my native Upper-Midwest, it feels equally oppressive because I walk to work. Bizarrely the rain and snow co-exist and even teamed up to ruin my end of the week plans.

On Wednesday night while I slept the rain drenched the Chesapeake but stopped shortly after I woke. Logy from an anticipated full-fledged cold, I struggled to walk. What did my wondering eyes see than an emergency traffic display claiming the Eastport Bridge was flooded out? My two mile commute to the Maryland State Archives very nearly doubles without the bridge! I urgently needed to work on my presentation with Tanner for the Queen Anne’s County Public Library event on Tuesday in order to meet with him Friday—but the PowerPoint was only on my work computer. After mulling over catching a ride with Esther, I opted to stay home and do HistoryMakers oral history interviews; an added benefit to staying home was minimizing the risk of infecting others. Esther left for her job handling classifieds and obituaries for the Capital Gazette just before ten only to return two hours later; she and her employers pragmatically decided it was in everyone’s best interests that she stay home, too.

On Thursday night while I slept the snow blanketed the landscape but stopped shortly before I woke. Still logy from the cold but determined to finish my presentation, I walked to work in what we Minnesotans would call a “dusting.” Most of the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland folks were gone; Chris, Ryan, and David were attending a social studies standards summit while Tanner teleworked for the second straight day. Since we were supposed to run through our presentations that day, I suspect he looked out at the fresh snow and decided the hour commute was inadvisable. This turned out well for me; I will now have a finished presentation for Tanner when we meet (presumably Monday) rather than an unfinished one on Friday; it also spares Tanner any irrational resentment for his role forcing me to work with a cold and a flooded bridge.

Sorry to write such needless details. I usually try to avoid these blow-by-blows unless they are pertinent to an overarching theme or story;  The reason I am writing about such pointless details is because I spent most of my week composing a presentation and doing research staff work. The actual presentation will be a centerpiece of my next thrilling installment and the research department work is not yet for public consumption.

I will soldier through this sickness just as the intrepid Ravens have in their short but proud history! They have always been my favored AFC team and I wish them the best.

Alex Champion—Maryland State Archives