I drifted off to sleep Saturday evening as Jon Burnett warned us of 9-12 inches of snow Monday evening.  Yes, I thought as my eyes closed, that might mean a snow day.  I have been waiting all of my adult life for the thrill of a snow day.  My childhood snow days in the late 70's are among my favorite memories ...putting on the snowsuit, moon boots and oversized mittens and heading out with my awesome sled with real metal runners.  Then coming home for hot cocoa and warmth ... I distinctly remember our gloves and hats stuck onto glass coke bottles in front of the heat vent.  It was awesome. 

Nothing in adult life compares to a snow day.  I was in warmer climates for the giant snowfalls in the 90s.  My first winter back in Pgh it was 75 in December.  That sucked.  A few years ago, we had a nice snow over President's Day weekend.  But I was off that day anyway.

Thus, since Sunday morning I have been avidly following the weather.  Channel 11 downplayed the potential blizzard so I changed channels and let my good buddies at KDKA work me right up into a snow frenzy.  Today at work everyone was abuzz.  Trainings were cancelled.  Meetings rescheduled.  I stopped at Giant Eagle on the way home to replenish the milk and cereal (we really were out!) and encountered a mad rush of inner-city snow fearin' folk dashing about the store for all they were worth.  

Which way will it go?  4-8 inches with an icy coating just in time for rush hour?  9-12 inches?  2 inches?  Grown up snow days suck because with this forecast the best I can hope for is an early dismissal.  Still, early dismissals were kind of nice, too ....

ps: even i had to admit KDKA went over the top with the exclusive interview of the guy who clears the airport runways ...

John Amaechi, once a star player for the Orlando Magic, is the first NBA player to ever publicly come out as a gay man. Now retired from basketball, Amaechi's unique story is detailed in his autobiography,  Man in the Middle just released by ESPN Books.

Now, Amaechi is an official spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's Coming Out Project, a program designed to help gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people come out and live openly.

Amaechi is launching a nationwide tour to share his story and encourage conversation about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality.

**********************************************************

Kudos to John who, sadly, will not be bringing his tour to Pittsburgh.  He will be in Philly on March 10.  Other stops include DC, Atlanta, Dallas and New York. 

Huh.

I think a few appearances in Ohio, Nebraska, Missouri and North Dakota might reach people who are alienated a bit more than say in DC which has a thriving gay community.  But that's just me.  We have no basketball team here so I guess we're off the radar.  However, that also means we are off the hook for providing yet another new sports venue so perhaps its a wash.