Wendy Cartwright
By Wendy Cartwright
Guest columnist
It is a common joke in the Midwest that winter weather advisories are a signal for residents to head to the grocery store to stock up on certain essentials.
Some call them “milk and bread advisories.”
At the first mention of a snow event by a trusted weatherman, we jump in our vehicles and rush to fill our carts with moo juice and Butternut. I don’t really understand this.
I am well aware there have been numerous impactful snowstorms in our area. But with modern technology, are 10 loaves of bread and three gallons of milk really necessary?
The clearing of roads has become a much better operation than it used to be. Even in the event of being snowed in, we are generally only homebound for a couple of days. If we are stranded longer, there are usually power outages, and you can’t refrigerate milk without electricity. Then we would be forced to put it outside, and it’s not a good idea to freeze milk, so what we are trying to do is irrelevant.
My dad goes to Walmart almost every day. He or my mother usually need something, and that is a convenient place to get whatever it is. At the onset of snow, he will comment that it’s a “French toast alert.” He has noticed that in addition to bread and milk, people generally buy eggs when they stock up on essentials. Bread, milk and eggs are the basic ingredients for French toast.
My father does not participate in these alerts but is often a victim of the long lines and crowded parking lot at the store. My parents don’t use any more milk or bread than the average people, and a snowstorm doesn’t change that.
There’s really no point that I’m trying to make. This is simply a humorous observation that has been made by a million other Midwesterners, and January is a great time to bring it up.
Wendy Cartwright hails from the North Vernon area and has lived there most of her life. She has a love of sharing her thoughts on growing up in the Midwest and other stories from her life. She spends her days reading and writing in the home she shares with her husband and chihuahua. Send comments to [email protected].