So Far, So Bad

Virginia, they say, is for lovers.  Ha!  Only if you're an Eskimo and rubbing noses turns you on.  On my visit before seriously heading south, I was treated to the worst snowstorm of this winter ... not in snowy NY, but in Virginia.

Proof!  Snow in Virginia, in March yet. 

About 8" of "white mud," as the Weather Channel described it, fell in an area that averages 10" for an entire season.  The temperature also averages 58 degrees in March, but not this March.  The storm lasted less than 36 hours, but paralyzed the DC area for two days.

It was actually humorous to see the southern response to a snow storm.  Papers proudly showed the picture: plows lined up waiting for the snow to fall, but they only cleared the most major of highways. Local neighborhoods never saw a single plow.  The newscasts all touted how prepared the municipalities were and what a great job they were doing, like some Herculean feat, all for dealing with an annoyance that we would brush off like a mosquito and just get on with our day...no big deal.

Yeah, I know, it's the south and they're simply not used to this stuff, but jeez, to ignore neighborhoods where people live is potentially disastrous.  Which may explain why schools, businesses, and the government simply closed their doors and stuck their heads in the sand, er, I mean snow.  And, of course, schools  were closed yesterday and today (a bright and sunny day).  So tomorrow, just to be safe, there is a 2 hour delay.  You  ..  can  .. not  ..  make  ..  this. ..  stuff  ..  up.  All of this for a storm that at worst would have meant a school delay or an early release for us northerners...on one day only.

The standard reason given for their absolutely dismal snow removal is lack of equipment because of the low risk of snow related events.  The people who run the greater DC area ought to pay attention to  a couple of things.  First, there's more of these events plaguing us these days, and then maybe it's not a very smart idea to have Washington, DC incapacitated over a couple of snow flakes.  It is, by virtue of it's purpose and location, the seat of world power, prestige, and importance. Which makes it kinda stupid, and embarrassing, that a few snow flakes bring to a standstill the mighty government of these United States.  But considering the way it's run ....

Mark Twain Quote:  "That's the difference between governments and individuals.  Governments don't care, individuals do."