New Orleans rarely sees snow–once every 15 or 20 years. Maybe.

So, it’s quite fun that Loyola has a “snow day” like the one being prepared right now. As I type, a blanket of white, fluffy, cold, SNOW rests upon our famous front lawn. As day yields to dusk, it’s quite a pretty scene. Loyola is so good at creating extraordinary events out of everyday living, especially for our students who either miss the snow of their hometowns or those who have not spent much time frolicking in or trudging through the icy stuff.

Now, I’ve seen lots of snow. I lived in Boston for the better part of twenty years but never became very good at shoveling snow or driving through it.

I was never so great at living in a bitterly cold climate, either. I never became accustomed to the inside-outside-it’s hot-it’s cold-it’s hot-it’s cold-it’s dry-it’s wet dynamic of being-in-the-house-and-then-leaving-the-house of the New England winter. In fact, due to my bad habit of not drying my hair very well after my morning shower, my hair froze on more than one occasion as I traipsed off to class my first few years of college.

Maybe my hair was speaking for the rest of me, which pined to spend some of the winter in the Lousiana sunshine. After all, there is something delicously incongruous for the weather to allow students to wear flip-flops as they charge through the campus during December finals…and, at least for today, chance upon a snowball fight.