Two NY boys, buried in snow, rescued alive!

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Two little boys, who were building a snow fort, got buried in heavy wet snow when a snow plow operator came by, failed to spot the kids, and buried them. The two cousins, 11-year-old Elijah Martinez and 9-year-old Jason Rivera were buried in the heavy snow for seven hours! Seven freeking hours! Rescuers and parents were calling their names and the boys could hear them, but, the snow muffled their cries back. They lost some of their outter gear in the 'avalanch', so they were missing gloves, hats, etc. They were stuck in a small air pocket, by some miracle, and they shared a face mask to keep their hands and faces from freezing. The later it got, the colder it got. It's heartwarming to hear how many neighbors came out of their warm homes, with shovels, and joined the search.

At first, I thought, wtf with that snow plow idiot. Can't you tell a kid's fort when you see it?? But, there's the pile. Even after they dug, I really don't see a real, like, snow fort. You know, with packed snow blocks, where it's obvious. The kids must have been just kind of digging a cave in already piled snow. I can't tell you how many times I did that as a kid and with my own kids. But, I always warned them about caving snow and how heavy it is. As a kid, I had little forts fall in on me and had a hell of a time getting out. But, this was in the city, in a parking lot, too close to the road. And that is a large pile and it's wet, which means it weighs tons, literally. If the kids were hunkered down behind the pile, well, who would suspect they could be there. It clearly was just an unfortunate accident. But, I am just amazed they lived...for seven freeking hours in that hell. They were finally found at 2 am. Gowd, it must have been freezing by then. Can you imagine how happy those parents were when they realized they were alive! My goodness, I can't even imagine.

It's a warning, isn't it? For any of us who live in heavy snow country. Tell your kids how dangerous piled snow and snow forts can be. The rule is, never play in them alone. There always has to be a look out, hopefully a parent. But, another kid will do. You can build a packed block igloo that's sturdy as hell, until the sun comes out. Then you really have to be careful. Parents should go out and check and if it's melty..take your shovel and knock it down. The kids will scream and cry, but, too bad. Better a hissy fit than a dead kid. Oh, I have to tell you, I used to build life size snow Elephants all the kids in the neighborhood could sit on and they loved it. I have some newspaper articles on it somewhere, with photos. But, when it warmed up, I got them all to help me 'kill' it. Because they were huge and you could get underneath their legs, which they did. If it had toppled on a kid..well, it weighed tons, it was heavy. Just think about that. And the stupid things kids do.