It’s another housebound ice day here in the Great State. All the roads are closed — the sheriff’s robocall this morning all but begged residents to stay home, saying that there have been at least 20 wrecks in our rural parish this morning alone — but nothing is keeping the neighborhood kids down. The hill in front of our house is the best place in town for children to be with their homemade sleds (garbage can lids, boogie boards). In fact, the front page of the Baton Rouge newspaper today shows some neighborhood kids sliding down the hill in front of our house yesterday. Nora and Lucas hit the slopes early, and played for hours. They just came back in for hot chocolate and to warm up by the fire. Daddy obliged. There’s the view from our table, which is to say, hearth.

This is a big bad deal for grown-ups in south Louisiana, but for kids, it’s a rare joy. It almost never snows or significantly ices here. Three days off of school this week! Woo! We are very, very lucky in Louisiana, compared to our neighbors across the South. Our public officials took a maximalist line on this coming storm, ordering schools closed and all kinds of emergency measures in advance. You might have thought they were being hysterical, but when you look at how much folks in Alabama and Georgia are suffering from insufficient preparation, you’re grateful.