WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN A SNOW DAY!

Yesterday was a snow day here on the East Coast. The temperature began to plummet during the early morning hours and just after sunrise the snow began to fall. Only a few fluffy flakes at first sparsely coating the tree branches. Hardcore joggers were out barely clothed for the temperature, newspapers were being delivered from a van slipping and sliding up the street and I was bundling up to go out and shovel my sidewalk before the children began to arrive
at the school adjacent to our house. It was 7:00 in the morning. By 8:00 the day was in full blast as was the predicted blizzard dropping the most thickly packed snow flakes I had ever seen.  I had shoveled and salted our sidewalk four times within the hour.

I was in Snow Day Heaven!

Even though I've been retired for 15 years now I still completely appreciate days like these when I don't have to worry  that I might get that dreaded phone call from Crew Scheduling asking/telling me to rearrange my life to help fix the flight cancellations going on around the nation due to weather. When the weather is acting up a pilot, no matter how senior, no matter prior plans, is on standby status. A pilot's life is not their own and that actually should be OK because it is what we signed up for the day we were hired into our dream job. In reality however you hope that phone never rings - but go figure, it always does -
 "Captain how long will it take you to get to JFK? We need you to ferry a plane to wherever!"

A snowcovered airplane parked at the gate
Photo downloaded from the internet

Christmas, New Years, Easter, hurricanes, kids birthdays, champion lacrosse games - no exceptions! If Crew Schedule needs you, you go.

A Boeing 767 being shoveled out and de-iced
Photo downloaded from the internet

I must say once you drag yourself to the airport you shift into high gear, it's exhilarating - a team of people, your colleagues - the crew, the dispatchers, crew scheduling, the mechanics, the ticket agents, the cabin cleaners - are all working together to put the puzzle back together and begin the process of getting your airline back to normal and flying again.
After all the complaining the reality is you live for these moments. A life separate from your family life but a really good life all the same.

I love this photo - only the props are visible above the snow

Photo downloaded from the internet

For me it is all about my family now and that is certainly why yesterday was a such a  great day! 

After shoveling and salting for the eight time I met my son Tony for lunch :o)