People in the mid-to-southeast are

Total morons when it comes to snow. Idiots. Give us an inch of snow and we're doomed.

Last Wednesday morning's weather was a perfect example. An inch of snow and drivers panicked. Completely. Granted there was a bit of ice along with it, black ice, which makes it worse. But people aren't used to snow anymore. Add the number of inexperienced drivers determined to drive to school come hell or snow and it's a recipe for disaster. Then add in the low budgets that the city sets for snow and ice removal and it's just ridiculous. Also, since we rarely have major snow storms, we don't have the equipment to remove it. (Prime example: The Richmond area. A few inches of snow and they're closed for over a week. Really.)

We haven't had a major snow in years. (I've doomed us now. I'm very superstitious.) For a few years we had a lot of snow; in February of 1993 we had over 3 feet and schools were closed for 2 weeks. Of course, at that time I was working in a rural county with roads on two mountain ranges, and if those roads aren't passable, the whole county is closed. I was living in the city, though, and it was almost a week before my road was plowed.

The following winter we had two more 3-footers, maybe a month or less apart. Again, schools closed. I couldn't get out of my garage for days.

In January of 1996, two days after I gave my two-weeks' notice to the rural county to come to work for the city, we had a storm that covered the cars in the parking lot at home; only the mirror of my car was visible. It drifted badly. That time schools were closed for the remainder of my two weeks; talk about lucky--I didn't have to make up all that time!

Since then we've had a few snows, but nothing like those. I can remember maybe two since I've known Tom, and I was living in a quadriplex whose owner plowed the driveway and sidewalks right away.

Last year I think that we missed maybe 2 days due to bad weather, the year before, only one or two. Before that, we didn't miss any days one year.

Thursday we opened two hours late, which is almost as unusual for us as closing. Did I tell you how bad the freaking parking lot was? A solid sheet of black ice. There had been no chemicals or gravel applied. Not even an attempt. Because "chemicals don't work until the high 20s" (see previous post about this). Uh uh. It's just a slap in the face for those of us who made the effort to get to work. They don't want to spend the money to make it safe for those of us who work and attend school here.

I feel so loved.