Let it snow...

We had our first major snowfall of the season in Chicago yesterday. The serious snow didn't start falling until Thursday afternoon, which pretty much guaranteed the evening commute was going to suck more than a Detroit Diesel powered Shop Vac. Turns out I was right. My 17 mile commute took 2:35 last night, for a whopping 6.8 mph average. It wasn't a big deal. I had seen the weather reports and realized we were going to get hit hard yesterday afternoon. I made sure the tank was full, and I hooked up some provisions for the ride home on my walk to the car. Two things exacerbated the situation.

Number one, a large percentage of the locals inexplicably forget how to operate in snow sometime between March and December. They're slipping and sliding, driving way too slow, or much too fast, and generally acting like radiation is falling from the sky. Almost every car out there has, at least, front wheel drive* , and most have anti-lock brakes. People managed to drive in snow in the 60's and 70's, it's true... I've seen pictures, before any of these things were invented. People who are pushing giant SUV's (Sequoia drivers seem to be the worst out there right now) also seem to have some sort of mental deficiency. Don't get me wrong, 4-wheel drive is awesome, provided you know how to use it. Here's a tip for all the jackasses I saw sliding their SUV's through intersections, and into walls, yesterday: 4-wheel drive doesn't do a thing for your brakes. If all 4 wheels are sliding, you're pretty much f'ed. Of course, if you're on some road in northern Michigan you might do a donut or two, hope you don't hit a tree, and go on your way, but if your turning from Lake Shore Drive onto Sheridan Rd. you end up hitting another car, a pedestrian, or parking in a bus shelter. All three of these things are seriously frowned upon by the authorities.

* except for the 3 Corvettes I saw up on the sidewalk on my way home. What kind of an idiot drives a Corvette around in 6+ inches of snow? Tough, and expensive, way to learn a lesson.

The second thing that made the situation worse was the City snowplows on Lake Shore Drive. The plows were coming through, one at a time, and pushing snow into usable lanes, rendering them almost impassible. So, in effect, everytime a plow went by we would lose a lane. By the time I got to the northern terminus of the Drive the far right and far left lanes were open and the two middle lanes were sort of a snow-bound no-man's land. It seems like it would make more sense to line-up 4 plows (slightly staggered makes sense) and drive down one side of LSD and turn around and do the other side.

It ended up snowing ~ 7 inches in Evanston. I shoveled the driveway immediately after I arrived home. I was the first one done on the block (shovel, no snowblower, if you're wondering), ahhhh, the sweet taste of victory. I used to love the snow when I was a kid. I attended catholic elementary school and around November 1st every year I would request that we pray for snow during the morning prayer. The snow request didn't fit in well with the other prayers for dying pets and sick grandmothers, but I figured it was right in God's wheelhouse. Of course some kid would always offer a prayer against snow to counter my move, but it ended up snowing every year, so I guess Jesus liked me more. My brother and I are avid skiers, sledders, snow fort builders, and shovelers, so the snow was a necessity. We also grew up playing hockey on the lake, so the cold was also welcome. The snow isn't as cool when you have to commute, but I still have a soft spot for it. So have a good time in the snow, and remember, one of the greatest feelings in the world is to hit an unsuspecting someone square in the face with a snowball. You shouldn't throw it hard, and it shouldn't be packed too tight, but if it's on target, you'll remember it forever.