The Snow is Coming!
Before we moved out to Connecticut, I was a little worried about what winters would be like. From several states away, I had heard the New Yorkers bellowing about arctic temperatures and occasionally seen the city buried in snow on the news. Deep down, I secretly thought that there was no way that it could be worse than winters in Wisconsin, where I had spent most of my life, but I didn't dare say anything until I had experienced it for myself. I know this has been a warm winter and it's not yet over but I feel fairly confident in saying that southern New Englanders are wimps when it comes to dealing with winter conditions (notice that I said southern--I understand that winters in New Hampshire and Co. are for real). When the weatherman predicts snow, people chatter worriedly about it and prepare like a hurricane's on the way. We've only had a few real snows this year but anytime more than an inch falls, the whole town completely shuts down: schools close, restaurants are empty, no one goes to church, and the streets are as bare as Green Bay's during a Packer game. This is not a problem for me--I'm all for using every excuse to stay in and curl up next to the fire with a good book or movie--but let's not pretend that the weather really is so bad, at least not without our tongues firmly planted in cheek.
I don't have a problem with my fellow Connecticuters and New Yorkers until we are all forced to drive together in these winter conditions. The ability of a population in general to drive in snow, ice and everything in between is most likely a factor of how much they have to do it. In Wisconsin, this is a way of life for at least five months of the year; in the tri-state area, it happens less often than they'd like us to believe. Therefore, the people I encounter on a snowy commute home are less likely to be competent at handling the conditions, and therein lies the frustration. If, after only a couple of inches of snow, you find yourself driving a four-wheel drive SUV at 10 mph down an empty back road with your emergency flashers on, your knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel, you should probably just pull over, take a nap and wait for the snowplow to arrive. Either that or do like the rest of the area--check the forecast before doing anything and if there's even a remote chance of snow, board up the windows, stock up at the grocery store and prepare for a long winter's night.