The hours before a storm are the best part of winter: the excited sharing of the latest forecasts (Channel 8 says 6 inches; paper says 10); the panicky trip to the grocery store, as if we actually might get trapped for a week without TP and other essentials (that reminds me: Gotta get to Trader Joe's; we're dangerously low on chocolate covered pomegranate seeds). Bring it on, Old Man Winter. Let's see what you got.