Snow Day? What??!!

I used to think that the criteria for canceling or at least delaying school was the passability of the roads and sidewalks. If you needed 4WD, snowshoes and a pack of sled dogs just to get TO your vehicle, schools closed down for the day, everyone stayed in pajamas and the shameless ingestion of high carb foods was declared mandatory. But recently we've been in a pattern of bizarre decision making. It all started back in November when one lonely little half a snowflake fell from the sky and the school stayed closed for the day. Then there was this other storm that dumped about eight feet of snow in a five minute period and the schools stayed open. And of course, there was today. I was driving sideways to the school, simultaneously avoiding other skating cars and pondering what kind of logic was at work when I realized that there is no exact science to school cancellations. What there is, is a little grey troll who lives deep below the elementary school chained to a table where dripping candles burn day and night and when the morning's weather seems iffy, like today, the superintendent visits him, the troll shakes his magic eight ball and proclaims "No, definitely not. Don't cancel school." Scoff if you want, but there's just no better explanation.