SUGAR SNOW: Roger Alexis phoned to tell us of a possible name
for one of the many kinds of snow – powdered sugar snow. He called
after being outside Friday when, you may recall, we had an
accumulation of this powdery material.

His mother, Edith L. Alexis, was a Swede and used a term in her
language that couldn’t be totally translated into English but was
basically this light and fluffy stuff.

We had asked reader to come up with names for the many
variations of snow, so we’ll count this one as our first. Given the
way our winter’s been going so far, we’ll have plenty of
opportunities to examine a variety of samples for naming
possibilities.

BIG CAT: Cheryl Thomas of Duke Center gives us an update on that
“big cat” seen several times in the Duke Center area.

She writes, “I spoke with a forester on 1/9/09 who has been
logging behind my house. He asked me if I had seen any bobcats. He
had been checking on a logging job, walking on a grass road and
rounded a bend, coming almost face to face with a big cat.”

“The cat crouched and started crawling in an aggressive manner
toward him. He then reportedly threw the hardhat he had on at the
cat; this happened to be the day he didn’t have his 45 revolver on
his hip. The cat bolted at the thrown hat, but the thing this man
remembers is the large body, tufted ears and spots and long
tail.

“Several people have told me of their sightings within a mile of
our house. Maybe this is what keeps my horses on full alert. I have
seen two bobcats in the last year, but not this long-tailed
cat.”

OH, ZIPPO: “Being a Bradfordian most of my life anything to do
with Zippo or Case gets my attention,” writes Gus Gocella of
Crossville, Tenn.

“Yesterday, my wife Donna and I went to see the newest Clint
Eastwood movie, Gran Torino. Truly an Academy Award winning Best
Actor performance by Eastwood as well as the movie. In the movie it
appears Eastwood uses a Zippo lighter with the United States Army’s
First Cavalry Division Insignia.

“Listening to the famous ‘click’ when the lid is open or shut
sounded a little suspicious to me. Is it a Zippo?”