You just KNOW it's bad outside when employers (and city agencies) start closing. I gave up trying to shovel after the third attempt. Talk about fighting a losing battle.
And as you can see here, even along one of our BUSIEST corridors (Coldwater Road), traffic was light, but moving, and the street was still passable. Blowing winds, drifting snow, arctic-like temperatures....yessir, all the "fixins" for one heckuva winter punch!
By this weekend, we'll most likely get a second dose, so be advised.
At least it was ALL snow, and not a snow/freezing rain mixture like Pittsburgh is enjoying this morning...THAT is downright treacherous! And it's that "dry" snow, relatively devoid of moisture. That's what made it hard clear it from wherever without having a gust of wind UNDO all you just did. Even the newspapers were comparing this to the storm of the late 70s. Sorry, nowhere NEAR as bad...trust me on this one.
Still, it does makes good snow-angels....
As to making snow-MEN...faggediboudit! Like a cheap sweater, they just won't hold together...LOL!
And of course, I was the ONLY one even trying to shovel. Hell, we have people that won't EVEN move their vehicles from the street, so when the plows come, we'll see YOU in APRIL...LMAO! One extremely nice aspect to this particular weather event...it was FREAKING QUIET around my neighborhood....even the boomcar morons stayed the hell IN....and that almost made me think it was ten years ago...again! It's nice to hear yourself think again.
Now we begin the digging-out process. And I'll be the ONLY one with a clean sidewalk (which won't even be used by the locals). Our driveway will be cleared as well., in case we need to go someplace (where, I can't imagine). At least THIS time, I have a nice FOUR FOOT HIGH snow berm in case the plows come ZOOMING down the street, rooster-tailing snow everywhere...that should keep the sidewalk a lot cleaner.
Coming from Philly, with narrow streets, we would dig slit-trenchs up and down the sidewalks, and aside from looking like some moonscape no-man's land, it served us well. Seemed everyone got into it, and there was never ANY property that WASN'T cleaned off. Not around here. I guess these aboriginies think that RENTING means YOU don't lift a FINGER...someone ELSE will. Now that sends a wrong message, doesn't it? And these people feel they DESERVE a house to OWN? Give me a break!
But I digress....
One thing that cracks me the hell up is having some older black guy (that I could have sworn I saw on some police wanted list) offering to shovel MY property (for cash of course). I told him I do it MYSELF, thank you. The snow wasn't even close to abating...this was in the afternoon! Yes, we do have those people like Larry, Darryl, and Darryl...who'll do damn near ANYTHING for a buck (or more). The man who came to MY door didn't get any other "takers" from our block....so on he went.
I miss the camaraderie that all of us enjoyed on the streets in Philly during winter "events" such as this....imagine over 40 families out shoveling...mom, or dad and the kids. It was like a tailgate party without a tailgate...or a game. It was just PEOPLE WORKING TOGETHER. And that's something I don't see around here much at all. With fewer people per block (10 houses as opposed to like 60 row-homes), one would think that people would band together just because of a lack of sheer numbers. Nope...it just doesn't happen here. Now with all my GOOD neighbors gone, and looking around at the vacant houses, having nobody to joke with or talk to, it makes lifting each shovel a snow just a little bit more lonely...
But hey, I can still remember the way it USED to be...
...and that's worth a smile, even in THIS cold!
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