Winter is (always) Coming!

It’s mid-April, and Mother Nature has decided to dump snow on us once again. As Minnesotans, we pretend we are used to it, and then every year we’re shocked when the snow fall creeps later and later into spring. At times like these, we must look to our fictional brethren and remember that we have it pretty good. Our snow will eventually dissipate. Theirs may not.

Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire) by George R.R.Martin
Westeros is a land whose seasons are very different from our own. Instead of cycling yearly, these guys have summers that can last a decade, and winters which stretch even longer. The noble House Stark would like to remind you that, in fact, Winter is Coming, and it’s going to be a long one. There are people in the series who live beyond the wall, and basically live in snowy conditions for their whole lives.Sure, they’ve adapted, but a winter lasting a decade? No thank you.You know what happens when you live in a world entirely of snow? You go crazy and start feeding your babies to Walkers.

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (PZ8.L48 Li2 )
The White Queen, one of the villains of everyone’s beloved childhood favorite the Chronicles of Narnia, covered Narnia in ice and snow when she began her reign, making it “always winter and never Christmas.” (Rude.) She rules from her giant ice fortress in the north, and fills it with people she has turned to stone. That right there is a classic example of why too much desolate snow is a bad idea.Things might have been different if she covered the land in daises instead.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein (PR6039.O32 L67)
If there is one scene in the books/movies that makes us glad to live in Minnesota and not Middle Earth, it’s the scene where the fellowship attempts to make their way through Redhorn Pass beneath Caradhras, the tallest peak in the Misty Mountains. If you’re an elf, bravo. You can walk across the snow with no trouble. If you’re a hobbit, however, the snowdrifts on this perilous mountain pass are probably higher than you are.Sadly, it’s trudge through the never-ending blizzard atop the pass, or brave the Mines of Moria and the palace of Khazad-dum, where creatures of great evil lurk.

Suddenly, Minnesota doesn’t look so bad, does it?