Stormy Weather
I am deeply conflicted about snow. On the one hand, the kids get endless hours of enjoyment out of it; on the other hand, I am stuck shoveling snow for hours at a stretch. And in some ways it brings out the best in my neighborhood, with neighbors feeling friendly and helping one another dig out; at the same time, there is the parking situation. This is bad enough without the snow, but with the snow it is almost unbearable. There's nothing like coming home to no parking at 9:00 pm with a car full of tired kids to make one think that moving isn't such a bad idea.
The last time we had a big storm I made the mistake of parking on the wrong side of the street (we live on a one-way street with parking on both sides) and got plowed in. It took me about three hours to dig my car out (as an aside, when Philly Wife and I invested in a minivan, the notion that it would be more difficult to dig out of the snow than our old Corolla did not cross our mind); and even so, I dreaded taking my car out for fear losing my spot.
Still, I do enjoy the snow, and the shoveling wasn't too bad this time around; what's more, I don't mind being "stuck" inside at all. Last night I took a walk in the snow about an hour after it started. A few last-minute items (milk and cookies) had to be retrieved from the local convenience store. The recently-fallen snow, about an inch's worth, was glittering like quartz in the light of the streetlamps. Foot traffic was almost non-existent, and automobile traffic was uncharacteristically light. The air wasn't too cold and the wind wasn't strong (yet). Indeed, if it had not been for the thickly-falling snow, it would have been perfect walking weather. But good enough will do, and the short walk gave me time to pray one of the Hours of Our Lady's Office.
One of the things that never ceases to amaze me is seeing people out and about in shorts in the dead of winter. One young man at the convenience store was attired in shorts and a tee-shirt. Isn't it bad enough seeing people out wearing pajamas? Some might argue (warning: not nice language) that this sort of behavior is borne of laziness, but I wonder. I am a lazy person myself, struggle as I might against it (though I am too lazy to struggle too much). I wear the same thing going out as I do at home. No, I think the problem is something else. I don't think it is laziness that compels one to wear shorts in the dead of winter, even inside.
I don't know what the final tally of today's storm is, but it is the second-greatest snowfall in Philadelphia history (however, records have only been kept since the XIXth century ... not exactly history to this Catholic). Our friend the Mayor has asked people to let the snowplows do their work and not throw snow into the street. Of course the Mayor lives in Wynnefield, where houses tend to have driveways as well as little patches of grass out front onto which one might deposit his snow. It's a little different here.
The last time we had a big storm I made the mistake of parking on the wrong side of the street (we live on a one-way street with parking on both sides) and got plowed in. It took me about three hours to dig my car out (as an aside, when Philly Wife and I invested in a minivan, the notion that it would be more difficult to dig out of the snow than our old Corolla did not cross our mind); and even so, I dreaded taking my car out for fear losing my spot.
Still, I do enjoy the snow, and the shoveling wasn't too bad this time around; what's more, I don't mind being "stuck" inside at all. Last night I took a walk in the snow about an hour after it started. A few last-minute items (milk and cookies) had to be retrieved from the local convenience store. The recently-fallen snow, about an inch's worth, was glittering like quartz in the light of the streetlamps. Foot traffic was almost non-existent, and automobile traffic was uncharacteristically light. The air wasn't too cold and the wind wasn't strong (yet). Indeed, if it had not been for the thickly-falling snow, it would have been perfect walking weather. But good enough will do, and the short walk gave me time to pray one of the Hours of Our Lady's Office.
One of the things that never ceases to amaze me is seeing people out and about in shorts in the dead of winter. One young man at the convenience store was attired in shorts and a tee-shirt. Isn't it bad enough seeing people out wearing pajamas? Some might argue (warning: not nice language) that this sort of behavior is borne of laziness, but I wonder. I am a lazy person myself, struggle as I might against it (though I am too lazy to struggle too much). I wear the same thing going out as I do at home. No, I think the problem is something else. I don't think it is laziness that compels one to wear shorts in the dead of winter, even inside.
I don't know what the final tally of today's storm is, but it is the second-greatest snowfall in Philadelphia history (however, records have only been kept since the XIXth century ... not exactly history to this Catholic). Our friend the Mayor has asked people to let the snowplows do their work and not throw snow into the street. Of course the Mayor lives in Wynnefield, where houses tend to have driveways as well as little patches of grass out front onto which one might deposit his snow. It's a little different here.
posted by dcs at 9:14 PM
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