First things first. This Wednesday business about snow is not much of a big deal. A little snow is about it…less than an inch for the Metro area, probably more in the neighborhood of a half inch. Northern counties will get 1 or 2 inches. Trouble is its probably going to be falling during the morning rush hour. Last week, we had light snow during rush hour before we eventually got around 4 inches. During the rush hour we had less than an inch..but the rush hour took more like two hours. Bottom line: give yourself some extra time but it shouldn’t be that bad. Now Thursday is the real story. We start as snow…lets say we get 1-3 inches before we turn to freezing rain. I’m concerned it may be a substantial amount of freezing rain…more than last week. I lost some limbs from my poor old pine tree and can’t afford to lose many more. I also like the idea of having heat for the house. Hopefully it won’t be that bad but, just beware, Thursday evening and night may get tough…Friday morning may be tough too. Plan to leave work early on Thursday.
On This Date In History: On this date in 1777, Benedict Arnold turned green with envy and it probably led to his becoming one of the most infamous figures in American history. On February 19, 1777 the Continental Congress promoted a bunch of Brigadier Generals to the rank of Major General. These guys were all junior to Benedict Arnold but by making them Major Generals, they all leap-frogged him in rank. The reason was that Congress was trying to even out the number of general officers from each state but Arnold didn’t see it that way. He felt snubbed and he wanted to quit and offered his resignation. General George Washington wouldn’t accept it and talked his friend out of it. Probably a mistake for the Father of our Country because Arnold remained miffed for several years until he became a turncoat and tried to hand over the American fort at West Point, New York to the enemy.
Now, its not entirely clear that the elevation of the other men to Major General is what caused Arnold to turn traitor but it’s probably a pretty safe assumption it played some role. In any event, Arnold becomes a general in the British army and he ends up on the losing side. After the war he went to live in the Mother Country but he wasn’t much better received than he would have been in the new United States. Seems the Brits didn’t look too kindly on a traitorous scoundrel, even if the scoundrel hailed from the other team. Arnold died in Britain in 1801 as a destitute, largely friendless man.
So…the moral to the story is green with envy doesn’t always result in green in the pockets. Keep the ego in check and keep the pride in storage and you’ll probably end up fairing better than Benedict Arnold.
