This marvelous storm has passed, and now we're pretty much stuck with near zero temperatures for a time here in the Heartland.All in all, we made it through relatively unscathed. I know that at the Bobby G. "Fortress of Reason", we weathered this event with our usual aplomb.
And, it's time like this, when you're out shoveling the walks and the driveway that you discover aches in parts of your body you didn't know you still had!
I was (and am) "hurtin' for certain", but had this sense of satisfaction...that I had done MY part in this battle against the elements.
Better to shovel THREE times with light stuff than wait until TODAY.
Here in Fort Wayne, we remained under a LEVEL ONE snow emergency, which MEANS that ONLY emergency vehicles and snow-removal vehicles SHOULD be on the streets and roads.
Naturally, the "locals" down HERE seem to NEVER pay attention to ANYTHING anyone tells them.
And that's why people had trouble getting AROUND the ghettohood yesterday (like the USPS, the drugs MUST go through, I suppose).
I saw my assortment of tire spinning, speeds reaching upwards of THREE miles per hour, and dipshit driving (when these idiots should have stayed in until the city had the streets cleared). You get used to seeing such behavior, and the one consolation you can take away from such things, is that YOU know to PAY ATTENTION to what others have to say when it's in your best interest and safety.
Most all the vehicles I saw that had trouble were FWD, but I also saw my share of RWD trucks (read SUVs) having a hard go of it.
As for people out shoveling their sidewalks? (like I was)
Pretty much non-existent.
The one woman across the street had her walk shoveled (as had I by 0600 hrs)...and that was about IT on our block...amazing.
One guy down the block managed to get his Monte Carlo stuck HALFWAY in the street and driveway. But with THREE people on the ass end of the car, they all finally got it (sort of) back up INTO the driveway.
I guess clearing the driveway of all that SNOW FIRST might have been a good idea...'ya think?
I'll tell 'ya straight up...what passes for regular people THESE days is what we WOULD have institutionalized for being mentally-incapable 40 years ago.
Which would make people like you and I damn close to EXTRAORDINARY (today) in the manner we conduct OUR lives.
Quick...reform the "League" (of extraordinary gentlemen...and ladies), there's rampant idiocy afoot!
It makes you laugh some days...on other days, you damn near want to bury your head in your hands and bemoan the state of our society in general.
If the CITY shuts it doors, and tells you to STAY OFF THE STREETS, the first thing that does NOT come to my mind is: "Yeah, I just HAVE to go out somewhere for the hell of it, because they told me to stay in".
And it's not that people can't WALK to a store for emergency supplies...they CAN. They just "don't wanna".
They have evolved into what we used to call back East a "gas-ass" mentality.
Why walk down the next block to my homey's crib...when I can DRIVE, right?
Of course, when you see the WAY these same people DRESS in near-blizzard conditions, you soon KNOW why.
(Educational Alert - you might learn something)
Athletic shoes are NOT standard issue for stomping through calf-deep snow!
Nor are they effective for traction, unless that snow-covered street happens to be made of polished HARDWOOD.
You need something with what we call an AGGRESSIVE TREAD.
And with all the pent-up aggression found in these Section 8 hovels ("gub'ment ain't gimme nuff") , you'd "think" these locals would put 2 and 2 together.
I mean, they LIVE to be aggressive from what I've seen demonstrated.
But they cannot figure out the whole boot/snow/warm, dry foot thing to save their asses. Go suffer.
That's why they "need" to drive everywhere (when they're not burglarizing homes in the area, which yesterday they didn't seem to be).
Yes, it sounded like crime DID take a few hours off, and it was wonderful to hear.
Hell, not much was open to rob (business-wise) and most SANE people stayed indoors (burglars hate houses with residents at home), and car-jacking wasn't going to pan out...(talk about your LOW-speed pursuits...LOL).
Yeah, not too much to entertain those simian brains yesterday...I loved it.
We only had ONE boomcar...came by around 2330 hrs...small white sedan. I green-lazed his ass, and he damn near drove into the unplowed snow as he sped eastbound...
Here in Fort Wayne, we remained under a LEVEL ONE snow emergency, which MEANS that ONLY emergency vehicles and snow-removal vehicles SHOULD be on the streets and roads.
Naturally, the "locals" down HERE seem to NEVER pay attention to ANYTHING anyone tells them.
And that's why people had trouble getting AROUND the ghettohood yesterday (like the USPS, the drugs MUST go through, I suppose).
I saw my assortment of tire spinning, speeds reaching upwards of THREE miles per hour, and dipshit driving (when these idiots should have stayed in until the city had the streets cleared). You get used to seeing such behavior, and the one consolation you can take away from such things, is that YOU know to PAY ATTENTION to what others have to say when it's in your best interest and safety.Most all the vehicles I saw that had trouble were FWD, but I also saw my share of RWD trucks (read SUVs) having a hard go of it.
As for people out shoveling their sidewalks? (like I was)
Pretty much non-existent.
The one woman across the street had her walk shoveled (as had I by 0600 hrs)...and that was about IT on our block...amazing.
One guy down the block managed to get his Monte Carlo stuck HALFWAY in the street and driveway. But with THREE people on the ass end of the car, they all finally got it (sort of) back up INTO the driveway.I guess clearing the driveway of all that SNOW FIRST might have been a good idea...'ya think?
I'll tell 'ya straight up...what passes for regular people THESE days is what we WOULD have institutionalized for being mentally-incapable 40 years ago.
Which would make people like you and I damn close to EXTRAORDINARY (today) in the manner we conduct OUR lives.
Quick...reform the "League" (of extraordinary gentlemen...and ladies), there's rampant idiocy afoot!
It makes you laugh some days...on other days, you damn near want to bury your head in your hands and bemoan the state of our society in general.
If the CITY shuts it doors, and tells you to STAY OFF THE STREETS, the first thing that does NOT come to my mind is: "Yeah, I just HAVE to go out somewhere for the hell of it, because they told me to stay in".And it's not that people can't WALK to a store for emergency supplies...they CAN. They just "don't wanna".
They have evolved into what we used to call back East a "gas-ass" mentality.
Why walk down the next block to my homey's crib...when I can DRIVE, right?
Of course, when you see the WAY these same people DRESS in near-blizzard conditions, you soon KNOW why.
(Educational Alert - you might learn something)
Athletic shoes are NOT standard issue for stomping through calf-deep snow!
Nor are they effective for traction, unless that snow-covered street happens to be made of polished HARDWOOD.
You need something with what we call an AGGRESSIVE TREAD.
And with all the pent-up aggression found in these Section 8 hovels ("gub'ment ain't gimme nuff") , you'd "think" these locals would put 2 and 2 together.
I mean, they LIVE to be aggressive from what I've seen demonstrated.
But they cannot figure out the whole boot/snow/warm, dry foot thing to save their asses. Go suffer.That's why they "need" to drive everywhere (when they're not burglarizing homes in the area, which yesterday they didn't seem to be).
Yes, it sounded like crime DID take a few hours off, and it was wonderful to hear.
Hell, not much was open to rob (business-wise) and most SANE people stayed indoors (burglars hate houses with residents at home), and car-jacking wasn't going to pan out...(talk about your LOW-speed pursuits...LOL).
Yeah, not too much to entertain those simian brains yesterday...I loved it.
We only had ONE boomcar...came by around 2330 hrs...small white sedan. I green-lazed his ass, and he damn near drove into the unplowed snow as he sped eastbound...I was LMAO...what a sh*thead!
We DID have two SNOWMOBILERS running through the area... (WTF???)
Now out in the rural areas, woods and fields, that's fine and dandy, but on a RESIDENTIAL (frigging) STREET?
Not hardly.
We DID have two SNOWMOBILERS running through the area... (WTF???)
Now out in the rural areas, woods and fields, that's fine and dandy, but on a RESIDENTIAL (frigging) STREET?
Not hardly.
No license plate and they need to have one, because those engines ARE larger than the 50cc limit the city sets for not requiring a plate.
So, where WERE the police?
(shrugs shoulders) Beats me.
I saw ONE FWPD cruiser yesterday (just one)...and he missed all the potential revenue from the numbnuts in our area.
I do know that the officers had difficulty navigating the streets prior to being plowed. (I could have TOLD them that much - I'm from Philly, remember?)
Today, we're gonna be back to "business as usual"...I can feel it (maybe it's just the arthritis).
I can predict speeding, and this one guy that loves to fishtail along the streets on purpose (too much testosterone for his own good).
Sorry, but being on the road in bad weather conditions when you don't have to be does NOT make you an excellent DRIVER...just an excellent FOOL.
(excluding emergency vehicles and city plows that is)
So now we settle in for the BIG FREEZE.
Yeah, I really want MY kid standing on a below zero-degree corner waiting for his/her bus!
Funny, we didn't have to do that when I went to school.
We just didn't have school when it got THAT cold. Then again, we were more prone to LEARNING when we DID go to school...none of this f$cking around "self-esteem" BS (we had our OWN self-esteem) and we also knew HOW TO DRESS for cold weather (parents made sure of that).
So, where WERE the police?
(shrugs shoulders) Beats me.
I saw ONE FWPD cruiser yesterday (just one)...and he missed all the potential revenue from the numbnuts in our area.
I do know that the officers had difficulty navigating the streets prior to being plowed. (I could have TOLD them that much - I'm from Philly, remember?)
Today, we're gonna be back to "business as usual"...I can feel it (maybe it's just the arthritis).
I can predict speeding, and this one guy that loves to fishtail along the streets on purpose (too much testosterone for his own good).
Sorry, but being on the road in bad weather conditions when you don't have to be does NOT make you an excellent DRIVER...just an excellent FOOL.
(excluding emergency vehicles and city plows that is)
So now we settle in for the BIG FREEZE.Yeah, I really want MY kid standing on a below zero-degree corner waiting for his/her bus!
Funny, we didn't have to do that when I went to school.
We just didn't have school when it got THAT cold. Then again, we were more prone to LEARNING when we DID go to school...none of this f$cking around "self-esteem" BS (we had our OWN self-esteem) and we also knew HOW TO DRESS for cold weather (parents made sure of that).
They would close schools we could WALK to, because it got too cold.
(no one was bused in THOSE days...you attended the school you lived closest to)
And we had a LOT more graduates with higher averages..go figure.
Guess a lot more people cared back then...that's gotta be it.
And that brings me to this whole "school-closing" thing.
The FWCS (as is SOP for them it seems) waited until the very LAST moment Tuesday evening to CLOSE the schools on Wednesday. (idiots)
Must have been ALL those irate people posting to the FWCS FaceBook page...
Oh, well...the squeaky wheel DID get the grease yesterday.
Today, school's back open (with a 2 hour delay while everyone else is STILL closed), and some neighborhoods are still reporting the lack of plowing to clear those areas...
Wonder how those buses will be doing IN those neighborhoods?
Personally, I think they should have closed for ONE more day...just to make SURE that ALL the streets were as PASSABLE AS POSSIBLE, and that kids would not have to wait on freezing corners any longer than they need to.
But we must not be all that concerned about the kids safety at the corners or on the buses...rather we're more concerned about that damn LUNCH MENU that Michelle Obama is screwing with...THAT'S what's important these days...and those freaking state TEST scores.
Lord knows THEY are job-one (instead of real education...teach to the damn test instead).
But, you just can't seem to go BACK to what USED to work in our educational system...or so it would seem.
(no one was bused in THOSE days...you attended the school you lived closest to)
And we had a LOT more graduates with higher averages..go figure.
Guess a lot more people cared back then...that's gotta be it.
And that brings me to this whole "school-closing" thing.
The FWCS (as is SOP for them it seems) waited until the very LAST moment Tuesday evening to CLOSE the schools on Wednesday. (idiots)Must have been ALL those irate people posting to the FWCS FaceBook page...
Oh, well...the squeaky wheel DID get the grease yesterday.
Today, school's back open (with a 2 hour delay while everyone else is STILL closed), and some neighborhoods are still reporting the lack of plowing to clear those areas...
Wonder how those buses will be doing IN those neighborhoods?
Personally, I think they should have closed for ONE more day...just to make SURE that ALL the streets were as PASSABLE AS POSSIBLE, and that kids would not have to wait on freezing corners any longer than they need to.
But we must not be all that concerned about the kids safety at the corners or on the buses...rather we're more concerned about that damn LUNCH MENU that Michelle Obama is screwing with...THAT'S what's important these days...and those freaking state TEST scores.Lord knows THEY are job-one (instead of real education...teach to the damn test instead).
But, you just can't seem to go BACK to what USED to work in our educational system...or so it would seem.
(shakes head)...whatta world.
Now, you're probably wondering what does a person do when snow storms keep you cooped up with little to do (except shoveling)?
Well, I have my "things" I do around the house...and then there's these:
-- Sometimes, I like to take some pictures of models in the "natural environment"...just to keep my photo skills honed.
Now, you're probably wondering what does a person do when snow storms keep you cooped up with little to do (except shoveling)?
Well, I have my "things" I do around the house...and then there's these:
-- Sometimes, I like to take some pictures of models in the "natural environment"...just to keep my photo skills honed.Reminds me of our troops during the Bastogne siege in 1944.
Now THAT was the greatest generation.
-- A little "forced perspective" shooting works wonders. Oh, the fun I could have running one of THESE babies down my street...
I got your your "urban-renewal" RIGHT HERE...LOL.
And naturally, you just GOT to have that BFG to go with it!
(objects in mirror appear LARGER...oh, yeah...lol)
-- Other times, I like to mess with photoshop for a while.
Okay, so it's not Robert Downey Jr
(it's really me)
...never hurts to "dream", does it?
And this rig would definitely beat DRIVING around town...that's for sure!
See what happens when you were an ART major in high school...and never followed up on it after all those years?
(note to self: NEXT life, definitely)
So here's hoping all of YOU made out fine with this recent global warming event....
Remember...you COULD have been living in Chicago this week...or Antarctica.
Keep taking it easy out there...plenty of snow still to move, so don't overexert yourselves.
Stay indoors when possible, dress warmly when going out, because it IS going to feel like you signed on for the Shackleton expedition.
And it will feel that way for close to a week.
Early spring...yeah, I'm hopeful because "Phil" said so.
In the meantime...
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.
(note to self: NEXT life, definitely)
So here's hoping all of YOU made out fine with this recent global warming event....
Remember...you COULD have been living in Chicago this week...or Antarctica.
Keep taking it easy out there...plenty of snow still to move, so don't overexert yourselves.
Stay indoors when possible, dress warmly when going out, because it IS going to feel like you signed on for the Shackleton expedition.And it will feel that way for close to a week.
Early spring...yeah, I'm hopeful because "Phil" said so.
In the meantime...
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.
4 comments:
LOL. You crack me up. What's wrong with snowmobiling on the streets? Really? :)
The snow you have is like it was when I was a kid. We have little snow..but it was 29 below yesterday and 53 below with the wind chill. YIKES.
Loved your post today. Made me smile.
Momma Fargo:
Hey, I have NO problem with snowmobiling IN THE CITY...as long as I see a LIGHTBAR or WIG-WAG somewhere on the damn thing...and a siren drowning out the engine..'LOL!
Now THAT is MY kind of cold-weather fun.
I remember snowfalls like this when I was a kid...people got around OK, and LISTENED when the city said to NOT DRIVE (you got yer ass towed if city crews found cars on main streets).
That's why we used SLEDS to go to and from stores...
(Dad pulled...I sat & carried...worked pretty well, too)
Glad I could make 'ya grin today...
Lord knows as cold as it is, there's not much OUTSIDE to smile about (unless you're hiking your way across your "back 40" on SNOWSHOES - THAT would make ME smile, too).
Thanks for hoofing it over here to today and commenting.
Always a pleasure.
Roll safe (and warm) out there, Tigress!
BG:
Cracked me up with the Shellhead photo. You'll have to do this again when the Thor movie comes out.
Glad evuhwhun decided to do their stupity inside for ya. And on the school closing subject, how 'bout this: The reason our plant mgr called up 15 minutes after shift start yesterday is because some of the office brass actually CAME IN, and cancelled when not enough others decided to break the law and go to work.
Throw a log on the fire, bud. Catch ya tomorrow when I get home from work.
Yours sincerly, Robert Falcon Scott
CWM:
I honestly would have pegged you for a Ernest Shackleton kinda guy...Remember what happened to Scott?
As for the "Iron Bob" pic...I'm really holding out for the Green Lantern and Captain America.
But perhaps doing a THOR pic,and looking rather god-like might not be a bad thing for these locals down here...LOL.
Plus, there are a LOT of skulls in my ghettohood that could really USE a nice healthy THWACK with some kind of HAMMER!
Thanks for shoveling your way over here today (nice path).
Stay safe out there.
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