The very best snowfall happens during the middle of the night. I know this for a fact as I used to have my very own snow alarm, in the form of a 75 pound bundle of joy called Major, a gentle, big-hearted boxer/black lab mix I was lucky enough to share my life with for far too short a time. He would fling himself onto my bed at 3 or 4 in the morning and I would stumble into my warmest clothes and head outside so we could catch falling snowflakes on our tongues, and if there was enough snow I would build a snowman and throw snowballs for Major to catch in his mouth. Today the very first snow of the season fell in New York, and when I woke up to see flakes falling outside the window, I stumbled into my warmest clothes and climbed the stairs to the roof to catch snowflakes on my tongue. Today is for you, Major, the best friend I’ve ever had.