What I'm Watching: King of the Hill (I tell you what!)
For those of you who don't know, I live in central Illinois. It's a place where ice, snow and freezing temperatures are as common in the winter as corn, soybeans and road construction are in the summer. Currently we're under a winter weather warning calling for 7 - 12" of snow, high winds and sub zero temps. Honestly? I'm totally aware of the complete suckage factor involved here. Shoveling snow, slipping on the ice and scraping my car windows are definitely NOT a few of my favorite things. However, having lived here my entire life, I've come to accept them as inevitable like death, taxes and bad tv talk shows (Maury, I'm totally looking at you here).
So, I have to admit complete confusion when other people treat any forecast for more than a dusting of snow as a cause for complete panic. People? We live in an area where this weather is not unusual. We have snow plows and salt trucks to handle the situation. There is no need to rush out in a blind panic to strip the stores of every last bit of milk, bread and toilet paper. It's a snowstorm, not the end of the freaking world.
Also, if you're out driving in the sucky snowy weather, please drive carefully. You may think you can drive 70 mph in this weather but let me assure you, you can't. While I don't necessarily care if you run your idiot self into the ditch (and you will), I'm going to be incredibly ticked if you take me along with you. Seriously. Ticked.
And, for those of you who don't live in an area blessed with the kind of snow we can get here, I've thoughtfully provided pictures from last winter for your snowy enjoyment.
This is the window of our old aparment that has snow drifted halfway up it. We got a few more inches after this picture was taken but it gives you an idea.
This is a picture of an ice storm we had last January. Can't really tell from this pic but there's about two inches of solid ice covering everything. Still? We managed to get out and about so still no need to panic folks!
I can definitely relate... I live in Northern VA and we don't get as much snow as you guys do, but we certainly get enough for it not to be a HUGE deal. There was a storm a few weeks ago and right before it hit, I wanted a bowl of cap'n cruch. Like bad. Like I NEEDED it.
ReplyDeleteI had the cereal, but we were out of milk. So I hoped over to the grocery store like less than a quarter mile away and grabbed milk. And the lines lasted over 45 minutes. RIDICULOUS. People had shopping carts filled to the brim with TP, waters and frozen pizzas. So annoying.
(You may wonder why I stayed, but I. Really. Wanted. That. Bowl. Of. Cereal... I can be pretty stubborn...)
I live in Alabama, so it snows like once every two years - AND TODAY IS ONE OF THEM!!! I am so pumped!! We are expecting 1-2 inches, so naturally EVERYTHING is closed and no one will venture out of their houses because we don't know how to drive in snow. We'll probably all just have a snowball fight in the street. I heart the southeast.
ReplyDelete@Sara, LOL. So it's not just people in my neck of the woods? I had a similar experience yesterday on my way home from work (prompting the blog post). I needed toilet paper (not as much fun as Captain Crunch but just as necessary) and I had to wait in line for.ev.er behind people who were stocking up for the end of the world.
ReplyDelete@Anne...congrats on your snowfall then! I hope you guys enjoy your snowball fight!! :)
OMG so THAT'S what snow looks like? Wow. I'm not being scarcastic here, either. Living in Texas, we get MAYBE a nice slush twice a winter. Sometimes, that slush may even freeze into ice. It's a pretty scary thing when the people see snowflakes and run for the nearest grocery store. Because an overnight, icy road warning is a sign that the end is near... yep, I feel ya.
ReplyDeleteThe crazies out, there who think that are great drivers, driving 70mph down the road...yeah, we DO actually have those. But hey, ice is still ice, and its slippery no matter where its from. Slow down people, I don't want to die because you're an arrogant asshole. My dad taught me one thing when driving (litterally, he only taught me ONE thing). "Know your a bad driver. It makes you a careful driver."
Thanks for this post-it was great to see what real snow looks like. You know, the kind that sticks to the ground. :)
Man, every asshole in my town is at Publix looting for milk and bread. I hate SC. I hate it so hard.
ReplyDeleteI do want snow, though. D:
Wow. I also live in (southern) Alabama so snow is a rare rare thing. Here 1 inch of snow (a long time ago) meant we got out of school, and businesses closed. The snow hasn't come in my part of Alabama yet, and now they say it might not come at all. But be assured, all activity will stop for one inch.
ReplyDeleteAlready for the past week people have been scrambling to the store for "supplies". It's currently 34 degrees and not expected to get below 20 for at least the next four days with highs in the 50s. However,people are panicking. At least they/we have the excuse of the rarity.
PS. My pictures from the one time I saw more than an inch of snow (in northern Alabama of course) pale in comparison to yours.
@Courtney: Yes, that's what snow looks like in all its glory. LOL. I agree with your dad though...if everyone (I'm especially looking at my hubs here) would just accept that they are a bad driver, they would be far more careful behind the wheel.
ReplyDelete@Sara: Hope you got your snow, but also hope you were able to avoid the supermarkets.
@Kelly: I probably wouldn't mind so much if this were a very rare occurance around here but considering that we have several of these storms every freaking winter you'd think people would get used to it. Even during the worst snow storm we had (snow was so deep it was drifted over the hood of my van), we were only "stuck" for 24 hours (and you could still get out if you had to, but who wanted to in that kind of weather).