Having been raised in the Deep South, there have only been a handful of times that I’ve seen snow.

Once was when I was still in grade school. I can remember heading out the next morning to attempt to make snowmen. When we got done, they looked nothing like the ones I saw in the movies. Even though the one my brother and I made consisted of snow, it was much smaller, and had mud and pine straw mixed in because there just wasn’t enough. It had to be the saddest example of a snowman ever made.

Subsequent experiences were pretty much the same. The older we got, the more we just wanted to stay inside and sit next to the fireplace.

Friday’s winter event was probably the most interesting because I was intent on finding compelling photos for this edition of the newspaper.

It was also the first time I’ve ever driven in the snow. That meant I saw the abundance of vehicle accidents as I headed north up Interstate 59 toward our county seat.

The further north I got, the colder the weather became, and the icier the roads were.

With each stranded vehicle in the median or on the roadside I and my fellow commuters passed, we felt more and more compelled to reduce our speed and ensure we didn’t become another accident that the already stained emergency responders had to deal with.

I noticed our speeds drop from a still modest 60 miles per hour on the interstate to a more reasonable 45.

Even then all I could think about was getting back to a warm, safe building where I didn’t have to worry whether my tires would maintain traction on slick roads.

With all of the precipitation that fell Friday, I hope that you, like I, plan to ride out the rest of this wintery weather at home on Saturday, avoiding the roads unless some dire emergency comes up.