"XRZ87's new Buffalo Page" a Buffalo Travel Page by XRZ87

Send Photo to a Friend

'Man, I love those Buffalo winters'
Drama On The Weather

From "The Buffalo News"
December 24, 1995

By HENRY LOUIS TAYLOR JR.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Special To The News
Henry Louis Taylor Jr. is director of the Center for Urban Studies, School of Architecture and Planning at the University at Buffalo.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think the very idea of Buffalo as a "bad" weather city is ridiculous. Floridians aren't humbled by their hot, humid summers. Seattleites don't cry about their rain. Californians don't get choked up over their smog. And I am not going to apologize for Buffalo's weather. Hear my words. Others may bemoan the snow, wind and ice, but I celebrate it. On a recent business trip, my colleagues gave me a concerned look at lunch when I mentioned I was from Buffalo. "How on earth do you deal with the Buffalo weather?" they asked. "It's not a problem," I replied. "I love it."

In most places like Nashville, Atlanta and St. Louis, you don't have winter, you have a long "cold spell." There is no snow, no ice, no winter wonderland. No skiing, no snowmobiling, no skating. Nothing, but cold, gray days, with nothing to do.

Buffalo has "drama" in its weather, all four seasons - great springs, great summers, great autumns, and fantastic winters.

And not just a couple of snowflakes here and there. Buffalo has "real" winters. We don't build snowmen. We build snow families, snow forts and snow castles.

And it takes "real" men and women to deal with it. Buffalonians represent the epitome of "masculinity" and "femininity" - tough, healthy, lively people - those are the kind of folks who live on the Niagara Frontier.

When I came to Buffalo from Colombia, Ohio, I wanted to get in the right mood and blend in with the natives, so I started calling myself "Nordic Black" - a northern black man, handsome and oozing with machismo.

I bought a warm coat, warm gloves and warm boots so I can play in the snow. I bought a four-wheel-drive vehicle so I can ride in the snow. I even purchased a house with a big, wood- burning fireplace so I can snuggle up with my wife, roast marshmallows and watch the snow fall. No matter how much it snows, I welcomed it.

My adrenaline runs when we have a snowstorm. I really get pumped up. I jump into my jeep, put it in four-wheel drive, turn on my custom-made sound system and speed away, listening to the melodious sounds of Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" or Miles Davis "B*tches Brew." As music fills my jeep, I scream joyously "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."

When I'm not sitting in front of the fireplace or driving my jeep, I dream of going to the ski lodge. Buffalo is less than an hour from some of the finest ski resorts on the East Coast.

Personally, I'm not much of a skier. I never leave the Bunny Hill - but I'm unapologetic about it. I have no desire to fly down the side of mountain, going 150 miles an hour on two plastic sticks. But I love sitting around the ski lodge wearing mu zip-up leg cast telling lies and enjoying the company of friends. Man, I love those Buffalo winters.

My colleague looked at me in awe and said "Wow! We're going to Buffalo."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------