Tuesday, December 21, 2010

...Snow is both a blessing and a curse...

I love snow. I personally think there are few things on this earth that are prettier than newly fallen snow. The quiet the snow brings makes the world feel peaceful and draws me away from the hectic world around me. New snow is the embodiment of tranquility, the epitome of calm, the nirvana that so many seek to find in their day to day lives. I love the snow (Not necessarily the cold...but the snow for sure) and all the meaning it brings to my life.

Well recently, my wish came true and it snowed. The snow was glorious, even in downtown Boston as I walked across the Mass Ave bridge or stood on the roof deck of my friend's dad's swanky Boston penthouse. The snow was as beautiful out here as it was in the suburbs. Well this same snow proved to be quite the double edged sword.

I have friends who live in other parts of the country, but I am always reminded of those who live in Washington DC, or the rest of Maryland, where if it snows an inch, an immediate state of emergency is declared, schools are canceled for weeks, everyone begins stocking up on emergency supplies, the vehicular mortality rate triples instantly and the president is choppered away to his secret bunker in Malibu. Well today I realized that we here in Massachusetts aren't all that much better.

Sure we don't get a month off to wait for that insidious white slippery stuff to go away on its own. Sure we're more used to the snow and are thus BETTER prepared for winter driving. That said, and I'm talking to you Massachusetts drivers (specifically all of you who were in my way trying to get to work today), why is it that when there is snow on the ground do you all forget how to drive? No really, the roads are plowed and salted and sanded and yet you still are ADAMANT about driving 15 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone.

I get why you do it. You're worried that if you go at all too fast, you will crash, your car will flip exactly 5 times in the air (but never any more than that) and instantaneously catch fire and burn your mangled bloody body to a crisp. I understand that that is a real risk, yes. But I also understand that it's already dark enough when I wake up for work, I don't feel as though I need to wake up EARLIER when it's DARKER because YOU have forgotten which pedal makes car go zoom. Am I being selfish? Probably, but I'm guaran-fucking-tee you this though has gone through your mind more than once in the past (and according to the catholic church, you might as well have just run the poor bastard in front of you off the road AND flipped them off while taking the lord's name in vain ALL at the same time) so don't pretend as though you have any moral high ground in the matter. The fact is, we all have places to go and things to do, and everyone collectively freaking out about the "road conditions" (which again have been PLOWED, SALTED AND SANDED) and the imminent doom the face by simply stepping out of their front doors is BEYOND ridiculous.

Am I suggesting you speed? No, I'm suggesting you drive at a speed that couldn't be outrun by my puppy (though to their credit, he is a speedy little fucker). Drivers of Massachusetts, I have faith in you. I know that most of you have been driving for quite some time now, most of you have probably been driving longer than I have. I believe in your skill. I know that you had to learn to drive in blustery winters of years past. And I'm fairly certain that those skills (which are tested and refreshed EVERY YEAR) have NOT gone away. So all I ask is that you please have faith in yourself and drive FASTER than a goddamn WALKING pace. I'm sure we can all make this winter far less stressful (because frostbite and seasonal depression aren't enough) if we all just got together and remembered that we've been driving for X number of years, and that includes winters with snow...

...And that's what I learned today. (props go to Jesse for reminding me of my god awful commute this morning...)

1 comment:

  1. There is still no snow in upstate NY :( well, not too far upstate. About 80 min north of the city.

    -ME. I think you might be able to guess? MAAAYYYBE?!

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