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Photo by Andy Atkinson Danny Ives, 8, of Medford, slides down the sidewalk in front of Safeway moments after the snow started Saturday. 'This is, like, the most snow I've ever seen in my lifetime' Kids relish their rare wintry opportunity BY MARK FREEMAN As Josh Frey slipped and slid on his bicycle across Medford's snow-shrouded streets Saturday, he illustrated the difference in attitudes between adults in BMWs and kids with BMXs. As cars fish-tailed and kissed fenders, Josh spun out and crashed repeatedly on his bike with the honest glee of an 11-year-old enjoying the snow. "I tried to ride my bike, but all I did was slip and slide," he said. "You put on the brakes and guess what -- you can't stop. When you can't stop, you crash." But unlike those wipe-outs that include front-end alignment and insurance claims, Josh's pedal-driven pile-ups were welcomed. "Snow is awesome," he said. Adults' dilemmas are kids' delights, and that showed more than ever under Saturday's strange snowfall in Medford. As snowflakes accumulated in town for the first time in four years, the city's children ascended to the streets, parks, front yards and parking lots to revel in the white stuff. For many, the marvel of seeing snow was outdistanced only by the different games to play in it. "This is, like, the most snow I've ever seen in my lifetime," said Amanda Torres as she paused between making snow angels and skating down an hilly east Medford residential road. Across town, 8-year-old Danny Ives and 10-year-old Tyler Warren killed time waiting for their aunt outside the Safeway store by skating down the sidewalk in their tennis shoes. Mike Mitchell, 9, did it all. He built a snowman, carved two snow angels into his neighbor's lawn, cranked a few snowballs at his friends and even launched one at his mom's car. As adults all over the Rogue Valley were just happy to make it home accident-free, Mike still had the gumption to ask for more. "The only way this would be more awesome," he said, "is if it snowed on a school day and we got to get out of school." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA