I have not heard if my good friend Jason Garnett, manager of the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va., was able to show "Home Alone" at midnight last night. But, I do know that those of us living in Virginia, North Carolina, Washington, DC, Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania have had to deal with an epic snowstorm.
The historic Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC, canceled two performances of the Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol" this weekend. Similarly, the Community Theatre of Greensboro in Greensboro, NC, postponed a performance of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" until Sunday at 5 p.m.
Governors Tim Kaine of Virginia,Martin O'Malley of Maryland and Joe Manchen of West Virginia declared their states in a state of emergency because of the storm which starting hitting the region on Friday afternoon. Roanoke got 18.5 inches of snow which was The Star City's highest accumulation in years.
"This is an intense winter storm, the likes of which we have not seen in a decade," said "Roanoke Times" weather columnist Kevin Myatt.
Salem, Va., resident Bob May who owns Countryside Classics on Main Street in Salem told "The Roanoke Times" that he opened his store around 10:45 a.m. on Saturday morning but he didn't have any customers.
Similar problems with merchants were expressed to other media outlets in the region. Debbie Stoll who owns Kiss 'N' Make-up, a cosmetic store in Hampden, Md., told "The Baltimore Sun" that she was not pleased with the inclement weather:
"We're all nauseous," Stoll said. "These two days could have at least made a bad year a little bit better."
Similar frustrations were told to "The Richmond-Times Dispatch" by Amber Hott, of American Eagle Outfitters located inside a mall in the suburbs of Richmond, Va:
"We've probably had two (customers) or three, two maybe," Hott said.
Children, of course, saw things differently. Though Chapel Hill, NC, only got three inches of snow, area resident Brian Nichols told "The News-Observer" in Raleigh that his son was very happy:
"We were visiting his grandmother and looking out her window when the snow started falling, and he got excited," Nichols said.
Western North Carolina was not spared though as thousands of residents lost power for the day in the Asheville, NC, region, including David Metcalf who told his ordeal to the local newspaper "The Citizen-Times" that he had to get his brother-in-law to rescue him from his own home where the thermostat had dropped to 51 degrees.
70,000 customers were reported without power in Virginia.
Transportation was also a major issue through the region. "The News-Record" in Greensboro reported that four vehicles collided with each other on I-40 near the Gate City.
Near Charlottesville, Va., a local weekly paper "The Hook" reported that area back roads like Route 20 had many accidents and hundreds of cars being stuck.
"The News-Leader" in Staunton, Va., said that area resident Timmy Simmons was checking the snow plows on his trucks to see if they were ready for action.
Motorists were also stranded on highways 81, 64 and 77 in western Virginia, with a 60-mile stretch of I-81 being closed because of road conditions around Lexington, Va.
A number of sporting events were canceled or postponed, including Radford University's men's basketball game with James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., and UVA's home basketball game against UNC-Wilmington was also postponed. In Morgantown, W.Va., officials decided not to go through with West Virginia University's women's basketball game against visiting Fresno State.
But, Virginia Tech played a home game in Blacksburg, Va., in which the Hokies beat Charleston Southern from Charleston, SC, by a 73-50 margin. And, Georgetown University in the nation's capital hosted Old Dominion which pulled a surprising 61-57 upset.
Both the Washington Wizards and the Washington Capitals were on west coast road swings, but the area's two NFL teams have home games within the next 48 hours. A flight carrying the Chicago Bears into Maryland to play the Baltimore Ravens was delayed. The Washington Redskins are expected to have an easier time when they host the New York Giants on Monday night.
Some people went through with weekend plans anyway, including football fans from Ohio and Wisconsin who game to Salem for the Div. 3 championship game which was won by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, which will mean that Mount Union fans who drove in from Alliance, Oh., will be even more unhappy.
"The Washington Post" reported that Rebecca Bloch and Jorge Diaz, who met while skiing, got married in downtown Washington, DC, on Saturday night.
And, my friends David Glick and Linda Cook opened up the Backstreet Buzz Coffeehouse in Reidsville, NC, on Saturday. They will be closed on Sunday, but that would have been the case under normal circumstances as well.
UPDATE_ The Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va., had to cancel the "Home Alone" screening, but they are now open for business. The Idiot Box comedy club in Greensboro, NC, had to reschedule an out-of-town comedian from the weekend for tomorrow night. The National Zoo is Washington, DC, remains closed today. But, the West Virginia's women's basketball team was able to play their game in Morgantown, W.Va. yesterday. They beat Fresno State 73-52.
