Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor...D'oh!

The Pepsi truck shown here obviously didn't fare too well this morning. Trying to get back onto Lakeview became a greater-than-anticipated challenge when the driver went right into a snowbank and a crew of six was needed to dig him out.

Overall, this situation wasn't too bad, because it happened in a parking lot. The city bus that got stuck in a bank on Bridge St, right near the French St intersection, seemed much worse off because whoever ultimately got it free had to deal not only with snow, but also with oncoming traffic from multiple directions.

Despite all the difficulties caused by the snow, however, I was cheering on my Commander yesterday when he issued a *Tough Love* directive to all the staff. Basically, it told people that today would be a workday. In nicer language, he said to suck it up and deal with it.

Pre-empting the instant, knee-jerk cries of "Not fair!" and "Don't you know how far away I live?" he offered ALL of us the opportunity to stay the night right there at Camp Curtis Guild. Pretty reasonable, right? And if those digs weren't good enough for some, there are inexpensive lodging options right in Woburn, or up in Andover, or wherever else might be better for cutting someone's commute time. And on top of THAT, there's the generous leave policy that grants us 2.5 days off every month. If staying on post, or in a hotel were really too much a source of heartburn for some, they could simply dip into their leave day "bank account" and withdraw one measly day for a situation like this. In my case, I had a leave day set aside long ago for a visit to Mass Eye and Ear, so I was spared the painful morning commute today.

Still, through some Facebook postings and a quick conversation with someone at the unit, I was able to gather that the complaints were flying left and right. Maybe they don't make soldiers like they used to.

Speaking of which, I was saddened to learn yesterday that Major Dick Winters passed away earlier this month. He died on the 2nd, but his family did not release the news of his death until this week. Anyone who has watched "Band of Brothers" will remember Captain (and later Major) Winters as the dedicated and heroic Commander of Easy Company during its push into France and then across western Europe. I never met Mr. Winters, but having read Ambrose's book and seen all the episodes of the mini-series at least once each, I always held him up as an Officer worthy of emulation.