by John Miller

Managing editor

This and that:

n WINTER WONDERLAND: At the very least, Thursday's heavy snow should get us all in the Christmas spirit. But I wasn't thinking that as I drove my wife to work on the snow-covered roads at 6 a.m.

Despite seeing several snow plows out and about, they couldn't keep up with the heavy snow, which left roadways treacherous.

It was a very slow commute, and thankfully everybody seemed to be taking the same approach.

Really, it isn't driving in the snow that's so difficult. It's driving in it when there are a lot of other cars around that makes it such a harrowing experience.

But hey, weather's something none of us can control. And some people actually love this kind of weather. Granted, most of them are either skiers, own or work for a ski resort or the gas company, but they deserve their "fun in the ... well, snow" as much as anyone.

n MEMORABLE HOLIDAYS REMEMBERED: Since the snow has us all dreaming of a white Christmas, I was wondering if any of our readers wanted to share some of their past Christmas memories with us. Send them to me at P.O. Box 2000, Clarksburg, WV 26301 or by e-mail at jmiller@exponent-telegram.com. I'll include some of your best holidays of the past in upcoming columns.

n NO EMINEM IN THE HOUSE: In a bit of good news, especially for us old fogeys, a recent listing of the top grossing concert tours in the nation this past week doesn't include EMINEM or most of the other strange artists masquerading as musicians these days.

The top grossing tour: How about Paul McCartney, bringing in a whopping $2,198,972 per city, according to Pollstar, the concert industry trade publication.

The Boss, Bruce Springsteen was second at $1,127,955, while The Who was third at $984,005.

Other "older" groups or singers in the top 20: 4) George Strait, $846,344; 5) Neil Diamond, $823,202; 6) Cher, $789,976; 7) Aerosmith, $754,756; 10) Rush, $414,560; 11) Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, $381,872; and 12) Luther Vandross, $362,676

Others listed: 8) Shakira, $689,520; 9) Creed, $422,793; 13) Alan Jackson, $339,611; 14) No Doubt, $325,276; 15) Tony Hawk's Boom Boom HuckJam, $319,270; 16) Lord Of The Dance, $307,955; 17) Nelly, $301,116; 18) Enrique Iglesias, $296,982; 19) Toby Keith, $296,212; 20) Korn, $279,524.

In a bit of bad news, it's worth noting that EMINEM's movie, "Eight Mile" continues to be a box office smash. It's "grossed" more than $107 million thus far. Gross seems fitting, doesn't it?

John G. Miller is managing editor of The Exponent Telegram. He can be reached at 626-1473 or by e-mail at jmiller@exponent-telegram.com