Zoey Chiole, left, prepares a snowball for a snowball fight with Amy Masson, 10 July 2023, at the Jackson Dam in Alberton, following a snowfall in the area. Snow is rare in Johannesburg but today large parts of the city experienced varying degrees of snow. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen
I was the first to see it. Not because I’m the most observant, but simply because I was the first one in the family to venture outside on what was billed as the coldest day of the year to date.
I’d just put the kettle on when I noticed the white flakes. No way, I thought to myself. It cannot possibly be snow. Ash perhaps? I thought out aloud. But with so much ash, there would have to one massive fire, and I couldn’t smell anything burning. I was intrigued.
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I opened the front door and, lo and behold, it was snowing. My dog Charles went ballistic. Running up and down the driveway, he was jumping around, trying to catch the icicles in his mouth, tail wagging, barking and yelping all at once, he was the perfect picture of a little boy seeing snow for the first time.
“It’s snowing!” I screamed, “come look!” The wife stormed outside, giggled and threw her arms in the air. Then rushed back inside to get her phone. She must have taken a thousand pictures in the next three minutes.
Next thing, my phone went crazy, beeping nonstop as everyone started sharing their snow pictures and videos. The entire Krugersdorp seemed to come to a halt.
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For at least nine minutes, our collective focus was on the white surprise from the sky.
My Charles was obviously not the only four-footed family member fascinated by the phenomenon. Videos of other pets and their antics as the snow drifted down, was proof that the magical moment was truly intriguing.
And then, poof! Just like that it was over. Within an hour or two all the evidence of magic was gone, melted by the winter sun.
Charles calmed down and plonked himself down on his bed again, staring out the window, and by the look in his eyes, I could see he was hoping for more.
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Somehow, those few snowflakes brought out the child in so many of us. It was fun, and weird and exciting and I’m sure we’ll talk about it for a while still. Strange, though, is that no-one complained about getting cold.
