A Snowy Week in PA, January 15-21, 2024

 By Nate Feldman

For the past two years, there hasn't been an inch of snowfall in the Philadelphia area.  But that drought came to an end this week with two separate snowfalls, each of which blanketed the area with white, powdery snow.  

The first storm was on Martin Luther King day, January 15, and the second, and heavier one, was on Friday, January 19.  Both storms left a few to several inches of snow on the ground, giving the area a taste of winter once more.  

MLK Day Lesson

 By Nate Feldman

In this short lesson, I teach about MLK day in the United States.  I give some brief information about the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the iconic civil rights activist who used non-violent resistance to work for both African American and human rights.  I also teach some useful vocabulary and expressions related to the topic.  

Desert Adventures: Prologue

 By Nate Feldman

Prologue:

Jackson Cohen, a 30 year old artist, grew up in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious family.  His father, a secular Jew from the United States, had married an Arab woman from a Muslim family.  His parents separated when he was in his teens, and he was raised mostly by his father in suburban Pennsylvania.  

While Jackson's parents were still married, his closest friend had been his cousin Nora, the daughter of one of his mother's sisters.  Jackson and Nora were adventurous, thoughtful, and creative.  They hopped on trains to explore different cities throughout the United States unbeknownst to their parents.   They set up a food stand cooking Arabic snack food, such as falafel and hummus.

Since his parents' separation, however, they no longer saw one another.  For years, Jackson wondered what had happened to his cousin and friend.  One day, on social media, Jackson discovered that Nora was living at the Jersey shore, so he decided to meet up with her.  But, he wasn't sure how he was going to re-introduce himself to her.  

A Snowy Day in PA

 By Nate Feldman

It's been almost two years since the Philadelphia area has seen at least an inch of snow.  On Saturday, there was talk throughout the week of the possibility of significant winter weather coming to the area for the first time since then.  However, as was predicted later in the week by forecasters, the storm brought only light amounts of snow to the area, which changed over to rain by evening.  Heavier snowfalls were in more northern parts of the state.  What did fall in the Philadelphia area left a light coating on the ground.