Didn't I park my car there, last night?
I read a piece from a newspaper in Los Angeles giving those of us who live in the Seattle area a bad time for shutting down during the snow storm we had a few weeks ago.
When I first moved from Eau Claire, Wisconsin I had the same attitude, since, in Eau Claire we would have snow drifts several feet high with below zero temperatures and schools, businesses and life would still go on.
Unlike many cities in the Eastern United States that have snow on a regular basis, though, Seattle may have one snow storm a year, so we are not exactly prepared for the reality of the event.
Beautiful scene from my warm apartment window.
We also have a city built on hills, some of which have 30 to 45 degree grades. During a snow storm they are great for skiing and sledding, but not all that great when it comes to driving a car and, especially a bus. They become not only very expensive sleds, but projectiles.
The other problem is the snow does not pack so that cars can gain traction as it does in other cities. It comes down wet, becomes ice and then turns into slush, usually within 24 hours.
I didn’t mind it, though, because I live a short ten-minute walk from my night job. I did have a challenge getting across streets, though, because of the ice. I wasn’t alone. I had the company of two dogs and a deer that had somehow managed to lose her way. We made circles in the ice at 10:30 at night.
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