Monday Musings...
My father said many times that: "If it's NOT one damn thing...it's ANOTHER".
That could very well be said for the weather outlook in the Midwest for the next 72 hours.
While it's a brisk minus three degrees outside this morning in Fort Wayne (wind chill factored in), like the saying goes: "You ain't seen nothing yet".
We are expected to see somewhere between 5-10 inches of snow, dependant upon the track of this major storm, the temperatures accompanying it, and the convergence of upper atmosphere moisture from both a southern flow AND that coming off of the Great lakes.
And it's ONLY MONDAY, kids!
Helluva way to say "bye-bye" to January, eh?
Now, LAST week was the anniversary of that nasty Blizzard of 1978 (what a coincidence), and I'm sure most of you remember how "fun" THAT bugger was.
It's interesting to note that we might be staring back into the past in the near future.
Notice, I said "COULD"....this storm might just be nothing at all.
OR...it could pack one helluva wallop from Oklahoma up through Ohio.
So...what's a person to DO about this?
Well, if you're like ME (and God help you...LOL), you've been going over possible scenarios related to the weather in your mind, which always induces a wonderful bout of insomnia.
But hey, better to always be SAFE...than SORRY, right?
I know we've plenty of canned food stocked up in our pantry, along with the basic staples, and a wonderful assortment of beverages.
I'm like my Mom who lived through the great depression...and she always had more foods on hand than we could eat in three weeks.
Nice to know her "legacy" lives on.
Whenever you find yourself in a situation that is tenuous at best, and no one seems to know EXACTLY what the conditions will be within the next 24 hours, your BEST item you can have on hand is your BRAIN!
You'd be surprised how many people DO NOT know that (especially in MY ghettohood).
There are some fairly important things to consider when you batten down those hatches for an upcoming storm.
And, after years of working at it, there are two mottos that comes to mind:
SEMPER PARATUS - (Always prepared)
This is the motto of the U.S. COAST GUARD.
The other one is the BOY SCOUT motto:
EXSISTO PARATUS - (Be prepared)
In cases such as this, either one works...and damn well.
Being prepared is the FIRST, BEST step to survival and continuance.
The last big storm we had was a little over 2 years ago (19 Dec 2008)...a nice snow/ice storm that took down power lines - we had one right across our DRIVEWAY (of all damn places), and a LOT of branches taken down all over. It personally set us back about a grand to get things taken care of, which WE did ASAP (unlike damn near everyone else who's on the gov't dole around here). At least we didn't have any public urination...(be hard to explain to the police how your "stream" froze to that garage...LMAO).
But we were prepared for the worst, and according to other parts of town that suffered outages, we dodged a few bullets (you get used to doing that on the SOUTH end of town, anyway).
And again THIS time, we are prepared.
Since our tree was trimmed back last time, we've few if ANY branches that could come down...can't say that about all the OTHER houses in the area, so our outcome regarding any downed power lines will be contingent upon THOSE properties (and the section 8'ers within those moldy walls).
We are ready to "hunker down" at The Bobby G. Fortress of Reason, and ride this one out.
What becomes more of an issue with storms such as these, are the FIRST RESPONDERS ability to arrive on scene at whatever weather-related events that happen to occur. Storms like this make it bad for even ALL-wheel drive vehicles to get around, and I haven't seen SNOW CHAINS in ages (but I still have a pair they used to put on the Philly PD cruisers back in the day). You can't go fast, BUT...you can keep going.
And, like in combat...MOVEMENT IS LIFE.
Hospitals will be already on alert for the possibility of those on duty staying until they can be relieved.
EMT vehicles will be hard-pressed to get anywhere until the main roads are cleared, which brings me to my favorite gripe about snowy weather in most ANY city...the ability of road crews to CLEAR THE SIDE STREETS!
Face it, you can't park on a MAIN ARTERY...you get towed...OR plowed the hell in...ask those idiots that TRY such things.
And the side streets always are the last to get cleared, so you KNOW it's going to be rough going there.
Hell, just keeping the sidewalks clear will be a chore and a half, especially when a plow DOES come down the street at like 35 MPH, and rooster-tails all that crap from the street BACK ON your clean sidewalk (as what always happens).
We have THREE snow shovels (take your pick) to clean off any areas that will need it. Yet, there ARE those houses around here that have NONE , or at least no one willing to get their lazy ass OUTSIDE and shovel anything (except BS, which doesn't really need a "shovel" in the traditional sense).
And when being outside, clearing things off, you also need to prepare for the COLD itself.
That means you BUNDLE THE F$CK UP!
You cover areas that will be exposed, like your face and hands.
Hell, I've got a balaclava-like hood for such things, as well as military goggles to keep the eyes covered.
I've also got a pair of bib-overalls that were used for riding or hiking in the snow...(great for motorcycles in winter).
This is the kind of stuff a lot of people let sit around when they should be wearing them.
So, you're not a "fashion-plate" and look about as UNCOOL as can be...but YOU will get the job done, while others do not.
Something else important...do NOT stay outside in such low temperatures if you begin to perspire...great way to develop hypothermia.
Go inside for a while and allow the body to readjust.
A lot of heart-attacks occur in weather just like the type that's coming our way.
Shoveling snow isn't the best way to leave this life...there are lots better ones.
Personally, I'm not expecting any power outages, but I can't control the weather, NOR the ability of other drivers who feel the need to to marry their vehicle to some utility pole a few blocks over, so I will be prepared (plenty of candles...oh, yeahhhhhh).
Even have a hand-crank radio and lots of batteries and more than a few flashlights.
Oh, and more than enough ammo to take care of any "pests" that might decide to drop by unexpected and uninvited.
(word to the wise, eh?)
Like I said, this could all wind up as a flurry or three...OR, it could be a LOT worse.
The idea is to prepare yourself FOR that "worse"...just in case.
If the storm dumps all the crap that's being said about it, we probably will see the city all but close for a day.
Hey, it might even force crime to stay indoors...at least for a few hours.
Be nice for the "blue line" to catch a break for a change.
Lord knows they might be up to their elbows in seven kinds of crap in the next 48-72 hours...they're gonna NEED a break.
You never know...and you take your blessings wherever you find them, right?
In the meantime, do what you can to prepare YOURSELF. It won't hurt one bit if nothing comes of this weather.
But if it does smack us all royally in the ass, YOU will be ahead of the game...and that's always a good thing, isn't it?
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.