The North and the South are like two rival siblings. They fight, they're different, they compete, but have a united front when attacked. Part of the friendly rivalry is over weather.
The part of my family south of the Mason Dixon Line thinks the part of the family north of that line is totally, irretrievably nuts, and vice versa. The southerners ask how can we drive in "all that snow". How can we keep from freezing to death? How can businesses survive? "Y'all must be nuts!"
The Yanks in the family wonder how a southerner can be immobilized by 1/2" of snow. They must not know how to drive in snow. How can they survive all that heat without heat stroke? How can workers stand to work outside? How can they be cold in 70 degree weather? Their blood must be thin!
My Native American friends have the answer in their proverb: "If you haven't walked a mile in my mocassins, you have no right to judge my ways." (Very roughly paraphrased for brevity.)
My worst winter experience ever was in Dallas, Texas. It snowed big huge slush balls instead of flakes. It rained with the snow. It was cold and miserable and wet and sloshy and then the temps dropped and the roads, sidewalks, grass, bushes, all were caked with a lovely smooth layer of ice. Ice storms are the exception in Dallas so no giant trucks full of chemical were on the streets and the town shut down until nature took its course.
Portland, Oregon, has similar winters. Winter's lush and green in Portland although less colorful than in the summer months. My Minnesota friend being a "brave and hardy" Minnesotan went to get her mail after an ice storm. After sliding on foot halfway down the block and literally crawling on her hands and knees to return to her house, she decided the "invalid" natives of her new town were more sensible than she!
"Ketuckiana" (the Indiana side of Kentucky near Louisville) has similar ice issues. Another hearty Minnesotan braved the 1/2'' dusting of snow to drive to town and ended up in the ditch! No chemical on the road combined with warm asphalt "dusted" with snow made beautiful "icing" on the roads which prohibited any stops or directional change.
We Minnesotans, on the other hand, know how to drive in ice and snow, right? Don't count on it. We just know how to REMOVE the ice and snow. The lack of driving ability is demonstrated repeatedly as cars careen into ditches when the snow first falls. Once the roads are chemical coated all is well with transportation again. We also know how to get rid of the massive snows that fall.
The pictures below show one St. Paul block being cleared of its snow burden. Whether the city contracted for this labor or the individual businesses, it sure helps the pedestrians move around more freely. Most of us don't wear mountain climbing gear for the curbside snow hills that build without this kind of removal. Once the big box is filled with snow, it's hauled away to vacant lots, parking lots, and other places to be dumped awaiting the spring thaw. These great mountains of thawing snow are the last residues of winter to disappear in the spring. Some can even be seen still melting after we've shed our coats!
Steve, Having experienced the "south" and its snow, I no longer mock the southerners inability to cope. That occasional 1/2" of snow is impossible to navigate! ☺
Posted by: Bonnie Erickson | January 03, 2008 at 12:41 AM
I grew up in Virginia, where snow was a rarity. In the winter, 40F was considered really cold. Once every few years we would get maybe a half-inch of snow, and everything just shut down. The whole county had a total of 2 plows. School was closed. People freaked out.
As a kid, it was great--snow day!
Posted by: mrstephengross | January 02, 2008 at 03:13 PM