D.C. region bracing for major storm

People are scurrying about like lunatics today, buying milk and bread, preparing for what some forecasters say will be a record-breaking storm for December. The forecast: Snow beginning tonight and possibly never ending. By the way, I never understood the snow-driven panic that leads to the assault on milk and bread in every grocery store within 100 miles of here. Has anyone in D.C. ever been unable to get to the grocery store for more than a day because of snow? Does milk and bread guarantee one's survival against all that falls from the sky?