FROM THE EDITOR There’s nothing fun or interesting about being stuck on the NYS Thruway as you slowly run out of gas and get colder and hungrier. That should never happen to anyone. But as we head into—judging from the early December lake effect—another snowy winter, the thought of being (safely) snowed in at least once sounds kind of attractive, especially as the last few winters have not been remarkable for big storms. The last major events I remember (other than the destructive 2006 tree-killer) were about ten years ago. In 2000, on the Monday before Thanksgiving, 24.9 inches fell in one day, most of it falling just before rush hour. It took everyone by surprise—by the time we all shoveled our cars out of the parking lots and headed for home, it was too late. Streets were impassable and everyone else had the same idea. It took me nine hours to make a normally twenty-minute commute, and even then I had to leave my car by the side of the road and walk the remaining few blocks on foot. The next day it was amazing to see the silent streets, cars strewn everywhere. We immediately went to the nearest grocery store and stocked up, then played pool at a neighbor’s. It’s fun to be snowed in sometimes, and it’s occasionally a relief to be told that, no, you can’t drive. In 2001, the holiday snow came even thicker and faster. A large storm moved in just before Christmas, and left 81.6 inches in just one week. My husband and I were supposed to visit family in another state; that didn’t happen. And we were kind of … glad. We still speak of that as the best Christmas we ever had. It was great to once again hang out with neighbors, walk around and look at the huge snow piles, and—as always—get supplies on foot. And then sit by the fire. Another benefit of the winter months is that there is more time to read. The Farmer’s Almanac predicts a bitterly cold winter in our region, so we’ve tried to give you plenty of useful and entertaining content in this issue, as you spend more hours indoors. As we do every January, we are including a list of the top doctors in WNY, reasearched and provided to us by the experts at Castle Connolly, the NYC-based company that also provides such lists to New York magazine, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, and many others. It’s a great resource if you are interested in knowing more about the range of excellent physicians in our area. Then we invite you to meet this year’s crop of interesting WNY singles, learn why a true macaron has only one “o,” find out how Buffalo’s most endangered historic building got that way, and discover the strange creatures who are living in your backyard and why you should welcome them. And more. Please enjoy this issue and have a safe winter. SUBSCRIBE NOW Back to the Table of Contents Back to Top