Having grown up in the civilized climate of San Francisco, where we limit our extreme weather to a few days of rain per year just to prove we're hardcore, I'm always amazed and bewildered by stories of extreme weather from elsewhere in the world. It's not so much the weather itself as it is its effect on the everyday lives of those who experience it. The concept of a "snow day" just boggles my mind. I couldn't even begin to fathom using weather as a valid reason for not going to school.

So this story from Pennsylvania really caught my eye. Apparently, a school bus started sliding down an icy road and the quick thinking driver managed to steer it into a tree instead of going head-over-heels down a hillside. One girl, who was on the bus at the time, is very glad the driver did what he did. "If we would have gone over the bank, we would have pretty much rolled over and had a lot more injuries," said sixteen-year-old Gabrielle Keane. "I think he saved our lives by doing that."

The driver was too modest to give the media his name or to be interviewed, but, if anything, that makes him even more of a hero. He certainly deserves a lot of kudos.